I'm Not a Demon, I'm Not
by StarShinobi
Summary: What was the real reason Kurt didn't tell anyone he was a mutant in Day of Recovery? What if there was more to it than he just wanted to be seen as normal for a while longer? Here is what might have happened. No pairings. Violence in later chapters.
1. Angry Words

Alright, so I got re-addicted to X-Men: Evolution after accidentily running across it on the Internet. So here is my Kurt fic! I love Nightcrawler!!

**Thank you dvid0703** for all of your help with the language issues!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the X-men, but I want a blue furry elf

Warnings: mild language, violence in later chapters

* * *

"Don't let my looks fool you. I'm a harmless blue fuzzball. Really!"  
_-_Kurt Wagner (_Middleverse_)

* * *

They all sat at the table in silence. It had been their first day back since their mutations were exposed to the public, and after a day of humiliation, no one really felt like talking. Everyone was reacting in their own way to the anger that still flowed through them though the torturous evens had happened hours ago.

Scott angrily chewed the pasta and vegetables that they had been served for dinner while Jean, who was seated beside him, ate calmly. Evan would every once in a while stab angrily at one of his meatballs and Rogue simply pushed her food around on her plate. Kitty didn't even touch hers; she simply threw angry glares at Kurt every few minutes.

Xavier could sense all of their anger, but the anger Kitty was feeling was almost overwhelming. He watched her for a few minutes, noticing her quick glances at Kurt, who, for some reason unbeknownst to him, sat at the end of the dinner table alone.

Kurt concerned the professor the most. He was not his normal happy-go-lucky self and he was not eating like the professor knew he should be. His teleportation took a lot of energy, thusly giving the boy a fast metabolism and the constant hunger that amazed everyone around him. If he missed a meal, he would only be able to teleport a few times before his body collapsed, thusly why the professor always left the kitchen open for him.

But most peculiar was the sense of guilt that surrounded the boy. Kurt normally had this feeling around him when he scared a new recruit or did something to anger someone, but it was so strong this time. His normally overactive tail was lying limply over the side of the chair outside the hologram he was still wearing. Xavier decided to get to the bottom of this.

"So, how was the first day back?" asked the professor, know the answers would not be pleasant; he didn't need psychic powers to know that.

"Terrible," said Bobby. "I had my locker graffitied, Scott almost got beat up, and Jean got kicked out of gym because they thought she was using her powers during basketball. Every one of us was harassed!"

"Like, not _everyone_," said Kitty with a small snotty tone slithering into her voice. She shot a sideways look at Kurt who seemed to slide farther down in his seat as if trying to hide. "Someone avoided the rest of us and, like, denied being a mutant. Some passed as a human today and left the rest of us to be, like, humiliated and pained."

Her voice hit him like ice, venom seeping from every word. He didn't have to look at her to know she was talking about him. If only she knew why. He didn't want to abandon his friends, but he couldn't let _that_ happen again. He was ashamed of himself, but at the same time he was more afraid of _it_ happening again than of his friends being angry.

When Kurt didn't respond, Evan became enraged at his friend. At first, Evan thought he understood Kurt and believed that he would explain his actions later or at least say he was sorry, but not responding now was worse than his betrayal at school.

"What the hell, dude?!" Evan yelled as he slammed his hands on the table and stood up making everyone jump. "What, you too good for us now?"

Kurt didn't even look at him, he didn't deserve to after what he had done. He closed his eyes in an attempt to hold back his tears as memories of his past came flooding into his mind.

Xavier noticed Evan becoming angrier by the minute. "Evan…"

"What's the matter, like, cant' stand to look at us?" screamed Kitty, interrupting the professor. "You're just like those kids at school; think you're, like, better than us because you're 'normal'! Oh, wait! You're not! You're a freak just like us! No! You're, like, more of a freak than the rest of us! Like, you're a blue and furry demon monster!!"

The words came from Kitty before she knew what she was doing, and she immediately regretted it. Kurt's head shot up and looked at her with a mixture of guile, shame, fear, and pain. They only glowed through his eyes for a minute before anger began to show more prominently through the tears that had formed in his eyes. "Und was wisst du über Dämonen, mein Genosse?(1)" he yelled in a deep voice that none of them had heard him use before, filled with anger and hurt, his ivory white fangs flashing in the light and his hands slamming on the table. His eyes shot in Kitty's direction, seemingly glowing a pale yellow, causing a shudder to involuntarily run down her spine. His eyes then moved toward his hands. "Was weiss jeder von ihnen über Demütigung und Schmerz?(2)" he said to himself, his voice pained and quiet.

"Kurt…" began the professor, but before he could finish, a loud _bamf_ and the smell of sulfur and brimstone filled the room. The students could only stare as the black cloud dissipated; the only evidence that Kurt had been there was his untouched food. His words rang in their ears though none of them knew what they meant.

Kitty's anger had caused her to say something that she was thinking, something that had always been deep in her mind. She didn't think he was a freak or a monster, but she knew his mutations were worse than the rest of the group. _Freak_ just happened to make its way out rather than _mutant_ or _mutations_. Still, she was angry with him, and though she was unhappy with _how_ she said it, she was glad that she said _something._

"Kitty," said the professor quietly, "do you realize how much you just hurt that young lad?"

"Yeah," she said sadly, but quickly changed to a defensive tone, "but, like, somebody had to. He abandoned the team. I any of the rest of us had done that, you would, like, be angry with them, and since you weren't getting angry at Kurt, someone, like, had to call him on it!"

"You're right, I would have been disappointed with the rest of you…," began the professor.

"Yeah, see."

"…but, not Kurt," he finished.

"What?!" yelled everyone before putting in their two cents.

"Professor, is that really fair!" yelled Scott.

"Ah always thought he was ya'll's favorite," said Rogue.

"That isn't fair to have different expectations for one person in a time like this, professor," said Jean quietly.

"That's not fair!" yelled Kitty and Evan together.

"Quiet, all of you!" yelled the professor causing everyone to fall silent immediately. "That boy has gone through enough without you making him feel any worse! I would be disappointed with all of you because you would have done this out of fear of ridicule. Kurt, on the other hand, would only do this out of fear of…." He stopped himself before he could finish, silently scolding himself for what he almost exposed due to anger.

"What?" said Bobby. "Fear of what?"

"It is not my place to speak of these things," said the professor as he rolled toward the door. "I suggest you speak with Kurt if you would like that question answered."

"But, he won't speak with us after what just happened," said Jean.

"Then I suggest you recreate that bond of trust with Kurt as soon as possible," said Xavier as he left the room, leaving the silent students in his wake.

* * *

Poor Kurt! Review please! They make me work faster! Thank you to dvid0703 for helping me with the German portion of the story. I don't speak German (wish I did though) so I had to use an online source. We all know how reliable those are. Anyway, if there is still something wrong, let me know so I can ask him for help . Mistakes now mean the I'm not listening to dvid0703 very well and I need to pay closer attention to him. Message me if I did mess up though. Thanks meine Freunde!

Translations

(1) And what do you know of demons, my comrade?

(2) What do any of them know of humiliation and pain?


	2. Betrayal

Alright, chapter 2! I am having so much fun with this fic! For anyone confused by the first chapter, this is a **Kurtcentric** fic. Once again, if my German or its translation is wrong, let me know via messaging. Thanks!

**Thanks again to dvid0703** for his help on the German portion of the fic. dvid0703, let me know if something is still wrong. Thank you so much for your help!

Diclaimer: Don't own anything x-men ecept the dvds I bought at the store

Warnings: mild language, violence in later chapters

* * *

"It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend."

-William Blake

* * *

"Aaaahhhhhh!" screamed Kurt as he through a framed photo of the team at his reflection in his mirror, smashing both objects into a thousand pieces. "Verdammen! (1)" He threw another frame.

Why were they doing this to him? He didn't want to have everyone so angry at him! He didn't want to abandon his friends when the needed him most, but he was afraid. He was such a coward! Why was he putting himself before his friends?!

_Because you know they won't have as harch of repercussions as you will._

'But they are meine Freunde, they should come first. They are meine teammates; I am supposed to stand by them through thick and thin.'

_And if_ **it**_ happens again, do you think they will come to your aid?_

'Yes, of course they would!'

_Do you truly believe that?_

'…yes, natürlich (2)…'

_You can't lie to me, Kurt, I know you. Verflixt (3), I_ _am_ _you! There is that part of you that remembers the way they looked at you the first time they saw you, the part that still notices that glint of repulsion and fear that shows in their eyes each time they look at you. You are scared that if_ **it**_ happens again, they won't help you._

'They wouldn't do that to me!'

_But you are not sure, and that, mein freund, is what scares you to your very core._

Kurt had to admit that it was true. He knew they were his friends and that they would always be there for him, but he was afraid. He was afraid not only of what would happen if they didn't help him, but more so of what would happen to them if they did. He didn't want them to suffer because the helped him. The easiest way to save everyone was to hide what he was.

Unfortunately, the words that Kitty has said that night changed his view of his friends. He had always wondered if his friends saw him as different, if they carried any negative thoughts toward him, and she confirmed that they did. He didn't think his friends could ever think of him as a demonic monster, but now he didn't know what to believe and it frustrated him immensely.

He picked up one of the pictures from its broken frame and looked t it. He and Evan were in front with their arms around each other's shoulders. Evan was laughing hysterically at a surprised looking fuzzy blue elf with Kitty phasing through his chest up to her shoulders. 

The professor sat behind them smiling, and Scott stood behind him with his hand resting on Jean's shoulder. Hank was to one side of the picture smiling at Kurt and Kitty, while Rogue was on the other side with her arms crossed and her eyes in mid roll. Storm and Logan were on either side of Scott and Jean; Logan looking annoyed that he had to be in the picture and Storm looking somewhat flustered that the kids were acting this way.

He loved that photo because it showed everyone's personality perfectly. Now, it only made him sad. The friends he knew in that picture were no more, now the hate-filled words that were exchanged that night were the only thing he could think of. On word in particular haunted every thought.

_DEMON!_

His eyes began to tear again, but this time instead of fighting them, he teleported to his bed, pulled the blankets over his head, curled into a ball and allowed the heart breaking sobs to wrack his slender form. After about ten minutes, his cries began to fade and he heard a knock on the door.

"Lass mich! (4)" he yelled. "Go away!"

"Kurt," Kitty yelled from the other side of the door. She knew he was upset because of all the German he was using today. "Come on, let me in. Please?"

"No."

"Kurt, you know a door won't stop me," she yelled.

"Kitty, I don't think going in there without his permission is going to make this any better," said Scott.

"I don't care," she said as she started to phase through the door, "he needs to talk to us." Before anyone could fight her on it, she went through the door.

She found herself in a room unknown to her. Kurt's room had always been clean; he took care of it since it was the first room he could truly call his own, but this one looked like the Brotherhood had visited. Pictures and shattered picture frames were everywhere. His mirror was broken as was a lamp. All of Kurt's bedding minus a blanket was on the floor, and right in front of Kitty's feet laid Kurt's holo-watch, completely demolished. His patio doors were shut; they were never shut unless it was winter or raining.

She spotted the large lump on the bed which could only be Kurt hiding under the covers. She walked over and sat on the edge or the bed nearest the balcony doors. If she knew her best friend, he was facing so he could see the setting sun, his favorite time of day.

"Kurt," she said gently as she began to pull down the covers, "I'm sorry about…," but before she could finish, she felt something wrap around her ankle, felt a large yank and smelt sulfur before she realized she was on the floor in the hallway with a very angry looking blue elf glaring at her with bared teeth and tearing eyes.

He was so angry! English completely escaped his grasp so he yelled the only way he knew how. "Was machst du, Kätzchen?" he yelled, his words flying quickly from his mouth. "Ich sagte dir, bleib außen. Warum kannst du nicht zuhören? Ich dachte du willst mich fern von dir, ein Dämon und alle seiend. Ich will nicht mit Ihnen sprechen! Ich will nicht Ihre Entschuldigungen hören! Aufenthalt aus meinem Zimmer und weg von mir, Du arglistiges Mädchen! (5)"

"What the hell, _W_agner," she yelled getting to her feet and purposely emphasizing the 'w' as she knew he hated it when people said his name that way. "Speak English!"

"STAY! OUT! OF! MY! LIFE!" screamed Kurt, his voice cracking and tears sliding down his soft fur, dripping off the end of his chin. He tail slashed the air violently, yet smoothly like a cobra attacking its prey. He stomped his way back to his door and opened it with his tail. He went inside, turned around and yelled, "And it's _V_agner! _**V**_AGNER!"

With that he slammed his door, leaving his 'friends' outside his door even more confused then when they came. "Well, that went well," said Evan. "What did you do, Kitty, insult his mom?"

"No, the jerk just, like, kicked me out!"

"That's why I said we should wait," said Scott.

"Kitty, if someone had said something like you said at dinner to you, would you want to talk to them right now?" asked Jean.

"No," she said sadly, "I guess not."

They heard a soft thump and the sound of Kurt's back sliding down the door. They all fell silent as his quiet sobs were heard through the door. "Ich bin nicht ein Ungeheuer. Ich bin nicht ein Dämon."

They could hear him repeat the mantra over and over again. "I wish we knew what he was saying," said Evan.

"He's saying 'I'm not a monster. I'm not a demon,'" said Rogue sadly.

"Wait, you know German?" asked Bobby.

"A little, from when I touched Kurt when I met him."

"So, like, what was he saying earlier? You know, to me and at dinner?" asked Kitty.

"I don't know," sighed Rogue. "He was just talking so fast and it has been a while since I've used his memories. Like everyone else, if I don't use something I know, it fades away. Sorry."

"There's no need to be sorry, Rogue," said Scott. "Hey guys, why don't we let Kurt think for the night and try again tomorrow." There was a unanimous groan from the group, but they all went their separate ways. Thank God tomorrow was Saturday.

* * *

One more step in the life of Kurt, will his friends be able to reconnect with him and regain his trust? Guess you'll just have to read on to see.

Translations

1. Damn it!

2. Of course

3. Hell

4. Leave me

5. What are you doing, Kitty? I told you to stay out! Why can't you listen? I would think you would want me away from you, me being a demon and all. I don't want to talk to you! I don't want to hear your excuses! Stay out of my room and away from me, you deceitful girl!


	3. Faith

Ok, so I know there still German gramatical errors on the first two chapters, but they are better. Thanks for putting up with that. I really am trying. ANYWAY, in this chapter we are going to see Kurt's religious side. PLEASE DON'T FLAME ME FOR THAT!! I will be fairly upset if I get flames about his faith. In the original w-men, he was a very religious man, so I am playing on that. If you feel the need to flame me, do because of my writing or bad grammer or something like that. Please don't be a jerk about the faith, dude!

OK, so now that I got that off my chest, thanks for all of the reviews and thanks to dvid0703 for all of his help. I know I have still made some mistakes, but you alone have made the German portion better!

Disclaimer: I don't own x-men yadda, yadda, yadda...

Warnings: Same as always

OK, GO!!

* * *

"You search much deeper within  
Than the way things appear  
You're looking into my heart"

-Heart of Worship

* * *

Kurt sat with his back against the door for a long while. His back was beginning to hurt so he moved on to his balcony railing to look at the stars. It still amazed him all the beauty there was in God's world. Now there was someone he knew he could count on!

There was another knock on his door. _I told you to leave me alone, Kitty,_ he thought, tears beginning to form again. All he could think of was the pain he felt when she said that one sentence. '_Like, you're a blue and furry demon monster!!_' He made no movement to the door. Ignoring her would work best.

_And what about your concerned professor_? Came a voice in his mind.

Kurt couldn't help but smile to himself. The one person he felt he could talk to about _this_ had come to see him. The professor never let him down. _Come in, kluger._

The door opened and the familiar hum of Xavier's wheelchair reached Kurt's ears. "I am flattered, Kurt, but I don't think I would refer to myself as 'wise'.

Kurt gave him a small smile. "I do."

The professor smiled back. He looked back at the destruction he had passed on his way to the balcony. "What have you been doing, Kurt?" he asked kindly.

"Thinking," he said, "well, after that anyway." He pointed toward the mess with his deformed hand, before staring at the appendage.

Charles looked back at him with concern as the boy studied his hand. "About what?"

Kurt gazed back up at the stars. "Gott," he said, "but you probably already knew that."

"Kurt, you know I don't go into people's minds without their permission," said Xavier. "What about God? Are you angry with him?"

"No," said Kurt calmly, "I stopped blaming God for what I am a long time ago." Charles sat quietly and waited for the boy to continue. He needed to vent and needed someone patient enough to wait for him to be ready. Soon, Kurt continued. "I used to blame God for what my life was after…the incident…. I would say how he was picking on me, how he must have hated me. I cried so often then, worrying what was going to happen next and worrying I wasn't going to be strong enough to get through it."

"What happened?"

"Mein Mutter," he said. "One night, she sat me down and spoke with me about what happened. I thought that when I told her what I was thinking she was going to get angry with me, being a strict catholic and all, but she didn't. She gave me a hug and told me her favorite quote; 'you were only given this life because you're strong enough to live it.'

"I got a little upset with her and asked what I had done to deserve what happened, how there could be such evil in a world He created. She told me a story about a professor. He was trying to convince his class that since God created everything, he created evil and therefore, God was evil. A student got up and asked him questions. The first asked if cold existed. When the professor said yes, the student replied that no, it didn't. Cold is the absence of heat. Then he asked if darkness existed. The professor once again answered ja, but the student said, no, darkness is the absence of light. Finally, the student asked if evil existed, the professor thinking he knew the answer, again answered yes. The student told him he was wrong. Just as darkness is the absence of light and cold is the absence of heat, evil was the absence of God's love in a man's heart.

"After that, I began to understand and grow in mein faith. I came to realize that God will always love me no matter what I look like."

"That is very true."

"God is all-seeing and like the stars. Even when you can't see them, you know they will always be there. I just wish friends were like that."

"What do you mean, Kurt?" Xavier was confused by the last comment.

"I mean people will always change their opinion of you based on what you look like." Kurt turned his gaze to the professor who could now see the tears in his eyes. "Most people will never know anything beyond what they see with their own two eyes. The others will always appear more normal than me to others, and I will always be abnormal to the x-men, too."

"I don't want to condone what they said, Kurt, but maybe they just don't understand," said Xavier, touching his fingertips together. "They have never had to go through what you have gone through. If you would allow me to show them the memories…"

"No," Kurt interrupted quietly and as politely sounding as an interruption can, "I don't want them to pity me."

"Pity and understanding come hand in hand, Kurt. It's called empathy."

"I still don't want to show them," he said closing his eyes. "I don't even want to think about it."

"You've been having nightmares," he said gravely.

Kurt hesitated before answering. "Ja."

"How far does it get?"

"I've been waking up before he even shows up," said Kurt as a small shiver ran down his spine.

"Kurt, I know it scares you, but think over what I said about sharing the memory with your friends. You trust them with your future, so trust them with your past."

The professor began to leave. "Kurt, who was the student in your story?"

Kurt smiled. "Albert Einstein."

Kurt rested his arms on his knees and his chin on his arms, the tip his tail moving slowly from side to side as it hung sadly. He heard his door close behind the professor and decided to call it a night. He teleported to his dresser, avoiding the sharp glass, got dressed and got into bed before falling into the darkness of sleep.

* * *

Sorry about it being short, I'll make up for it in the next one, I promise!

Translation

kluger- wise one


	4. The Monster Within

HEY! I finally got the next chapter finished and I am already working on the next one! I hope this makes up for the last chapter being so short. I don't want to delay anymore, but I just wanted to than the following readers for their reviews. Things like that are what keep me going!

dvid0703

Anony.Lover

PurplePoof

animefan2158

kat priestley

WarrinPeace

**Thanks for the reviews!!**

* * *

"Ich-Behälter der Bote des Teufels. Die Ausgeburt des Boesen. Ich-Behälter ein Damon (1)."

-Kurt Wagner in _X2_

* * *

_It hurt! It hurt everywhere. Tears ran down his face as something hot kept touching him. He wanted to get away! Why couldn't he teleport?! He coughed. Why was it so hot? He opened his eyes and saw._

_Fire…_

_He tried to get up to run, but his hands were being held behind his back. He could smell burning hair and cloth as he lay on the ground. Smoke filled his lungs and his eyes glowed brightly in the orange blaze. He kept trying, but he just couldn't teleport. He yelled in pain as the fire lapped at his exposed arms and legs._

_He moved his tail to try and loosen whatever it was that was holding him only to scream in pain again. He strained to turn only to see that the spade of his tail was nailed to the ground, causing a wave of nausea to wash over him._

_He couldn't take it anymore, it was too hot. He could feel his strength leaving him and looked past the flames when he saw movement. He saw illuminated faces outside the ring of fire, some he knew, others he didn't. They were all yelling at him._

"_Demon."_

"_Ungeheuer__."_

"_Nein!" He wasn't. He was human! He looked into the crowd and his heart sunk when he saw the faces of Kitty, Scott, Evan and the rest of the X-Men yelling along with the crowd._

"_Dämon!"_

"_Monster!"_

_No! Stop! Why couldn't he get lose! Someone! Anyone! Help! _

_The flames increased in size as the crowd outside the ring of fire got louder, filling his ears with the roar of voice and fire. He wanted to cover his ears, to not listen anymore. He struggled against his restraints._

"_MONSTER!"_

"_DÄMON!"_

"_UNGEHEUER!"_

"_DEMON!"_

_Suddenly, there was a loud_ BAMF _and a man stood before him. The man wore an odd outfit of armor-looking blue cloth. Plate-like bones covered his chest, left arm and shoulder. The skull of some tusked, horned creature covered his right shoulder and he wore a cape made of animal hide with coarse white fur. His white hair was cut in a tall box-style and he had a large, black goatee with a beard along his jaw line._

_But what really caught Kurt's attention was the red fur that covered his body and the long spaded tail that moved behind him. His long, pointed ears had to be at least four inches long. _

_Kurt was suddenly very afraid. "Who…Who are you?" The man just stared at him for a moment with his glossy, black eyes, making Kurt feel very uncomfortable. Or, he would have if the fire hadn't been causing him so much pain. "Please, can you help me get out of here?"_

"_Kurt," said the man, his voice was deep and menacing, sending a chill down Kurt's burning spine, "I will release you from your pain if you will release me from my prison."_

"_What," Kurt coughed, "but you're not trapped. You teleported in, you can get out easily!"_

"_Will you release me, boy?!" yelled them man._

_Kurt shrunk back involuntarily. "I…I don't know," he stammered. "What do I have to do?"_

"_Just allow me to release you from this pain and I will be free," said the man as he smiled reveling white, pointed teeth. The smile worried Kurt, and those fears were justified when he felt the man's thick tail touch his shoulder and begin to wrap around his neck._

_Kurt realized what the man meant when he said he would 'release Kurt from his pain,' he was going to kill him. Kurt panicked, the tail was getting tighter. He couldn't breath! He saw his one opportunity for escape and did the only thing he could think of, biting down on the man's tail._

* * *

Scott ran down the hall as another flash of lightning lit up the institute, followed almost immediately by a loud clap of thunder. This was one of the worst storms that had hit Beyville in years, but it wasn't the storm that had him running in fear.

He had been sitting in his bed trying to sleep after what had happened today, but was thus far unsuccessful. After about two hours, a terrible scream caused him to jerk and fall out of his bed. He had never heard a noise like that before, like someone being tortured.

He was following the screams when he ran into Jean. "Scott, what is that?" she asked, fear surrounding every shaking word.

"I don't know," he said taking her hand. "Have you asked the professor?"

"No, I can't concentrate enough," she cried. "Scott, what if someone's hurt?"

"Then we need to find them. Come on."

Scott continued to run down the hall, now pulling a scared Jean Grey behind him as they followed the terrible noise. Doors continued to open on all sides as they passed. Scott told them to go back inside their rooms, but some, such as Kitty and Evan, would not listen and followed the pair to the noise's source.

They all stared as they saw light apilling into the hall through an open door from which the screams came. "KURT!" yelled Kitty as she rounded into the room. The others soon followed to find Mr. McCoy, the professor, Logan, Storm, and Rogue already in the room.

"Everyone, stay back," said Logan.

Scott looked and saw Kurt thrashing about on the bed. His eyes were squeezed shut in pain and his tail whipped about him, a definite danger to anyone who dared come close to him. Jean could see the muscles he used to teleport flexing and releasing, almost as if he were trying to teleport but was unable to.

"Nein!" he screamed, whipping his head from side to side. A thick layer of sweat had accumulated on his fur, making it appear darker than usual and giving it a matted appearance. His arms remained fairly still, clutched to his chest, but his legs kept moving like he was trying to escape something at the end of his bed. Tears were flowing down his face, mixing with the sweat. It was a very frightening thing to watch.

"Scott, what do we do?" asked Jean.

"Professor, shouldn't we wake him up?" yelled Scott so he could be heard over his friend.

"I'm trying, Scott," said the professor, his hands over his temples and his eyes shut tight in concentration. "No one can go near him when he is in this state so I must try to awaken him telepathically, but something is blocking me." His voice was strained and harsh, but there was a slight undertone of concern which worried the students.

"Help," cried Kurt weakly. Scott noticed Kurt's actions becoming more erratic and increasing in speed. That was when he noticed.

"Professor! He's not breathing." Scott ran toward his friend. It was obvious that Kurt was still alive, but it looked as if he was fighting for breath, like something was cutting off his air.

"Scott!" yelled the professor, fear evident in his face and voice. "Wait, don't touch him!"

But it was too late. Scott reached across Kurt's body and was about to begin shaking the boy to wake him from his nightmares when he lashed out.

Obviously still asleep, Kurt bit into Scott's arm with his sharp fangs, growling like a scared animal and tears still running down his pained face. Scott yelled in agony as he tried to pull his arm back, but Kurt would not let go. Rather, he grabbed onto the appendage with his hands and tail and dug his teeth in deeper.

"Kurt! Let go!" screamed Jean.

"Charles, do something!" yelled Ororo.

Scott could feel Kurt's fangs sinking deeper and deeper, causing a new flash of pain with each millimeter they progressed. Blood was now starting drip off of his arm and onto Kurt's bed as he yelled in agony and fought to free himself. "Professor, help!" he screamed.

The professor put his hands to his temples again. "I'm sorry, Kurt," he said before sending a psychic blast toward his student. Almost immediately, Kurt's grasp on Scott weakened, but Scott was too afraid to move. Storm went to his side and hesitantly reached to work on releasing Scott's arm.

"It's alright, Storm," said the professor messaging his temples. "I've momentarily rendered him unconscious. He won't hurt you."

Quickly, Storm opened Kurt's mouth and carefully removed Kurt's teeth from Scott's arm. She ripped off part of Kurt's blanket and immediately put pressure on Scott's wound as the bleeding had increased when the pressure from Kurt's teeth was gone.

"Why didn't you just do that in the first place, professor?" asked Evan. "You could have saved us a lot of trouble."

"Because, I did not want to hurt Kurt," he replied irritably. "That is why I told all of you to stay back. I didn't want _anyone_ to get hurt. Storm, could you try and wake him now, it should be safe now."

Jean took over for Storm and put pressure on Scott's arm which was now dripping blood onto the bedroom carpet. He was shaking from shock, unable to look anywhere but from his arm, to Kurt and back again.

Storm shook Kurt's shoulder, gently called his name, and he slowly opened his eyes. He yawned and stretched out his sore muscles. _Why am I so stiff?_ he thought. He felt like he had just finished a marathon.

He looked around and saw everyone staring at him. "What are you all doing in my room?" he asked, rubbing his throbbing head. His eyes landed on Scott. "Dude, what happened to your arm?"

Everyone continued to stare at him, as if they were afraid to tell him something. Another yawn escaped his lips. _Gros(1), I have some bad morning breath today_, he though as a metallic taste filled his mouth. He felt something drip down his chin. _Ah man, and I was drooling too. Wundebar(2)!_

He reached up and whipped his mouth with the back of his hand, but something red caught his eye. He looked down on his hand only to see a dark, crimson liquid contrasting his blue fur. He looked as his blanket and saw more of the liquid staining its cream surface.

Reality hit him like a ten ton bus. "No," he said quietly, jumping off his bed and turning to look at Scott again, "I didn't! Did I?"

"Kurt…," began the professor kindly as his student began to back himself into the corner of his room.

His eyes locked with each of his friends' eyes, each of them, along with Scott's face, showing a great amount of fear. The professor was the only exception, appearing worried for Kurt rather than afraid of him. "Nein, what have I done?" he said louder, sliding down the wall into a ball, placing his head in his hands, and wrapping his tail around his feet.

"Kurt, it was an accident…," the professor tried to continue.

"I really am a demon!" he screamed, his accent thick in its terrified state. "I can't stay here! I might hurt someone else!"

"Kurt, wait!" yelled the professor, but it was too late. An oddly weak _bamf_ was heard and the smell of brimstone filled the room. When the smoke cleared, Kurt was gone.

There was a long silence before Scott broke the uncomfortable pause. "Professor," he said quietly, looking at the floor in shame, "I'm sorry."

"Scott," said the professor calmly, talking slowly so as to hold his composure, "this is why I told you to stay back. Nightcrawler can have some exceptionally terrible nightmares of which you have never seen. To him, they are real; most times distorted but sometimes true memories of his past. When these dreams occur it is hard for his mind to tell the difference between the dream and reality." He turned his back to the students and stared at the bed as if it would explain what happened to his student. "Scott's touch must have corresponded to something that occurred in the dream, making Kurt react the way he did." The professor was talking more to himself than to his students.

"Professor, what should we do?" asked Rogue.

"First, Scott needs to go to the medical wing and get that wound taken care of," said the professor. "If we didn't need everyone's help tonight, I would have him stay here due to his lack of ability to follow my instructions. Unfortunately, this situation could be direr than I thought. We need every available X-Man looking for Kurt. Now, get the others."

The students left the room as did Hank and Ororo until only the professor and Logan remained. "What did you mean that the situation could be worse than you thought, Chuck?"

"By the severity of Kurt's reactions, I would have to say that _he_ has come into contact with the boy. All _he_ needs now is for Kurt to cause a disturbance in which humans see him to find him. If he does, there may be very little we can do to help Kurt. We need to find the boy before _he_ does."

* * *

Uh, oh! Watch out Kurt! If you want to see a picture of this mysterious man, just go to my webpage. I gots pictures!!

Translations

1- I am the messanger of the devil. The spawn of evil. I am a demon.

2- Gross

3-Wondrful


	5. Searching

Yay for quick updates! Thanks again for great reviews!

Dislaimer: Don't own x-men.

Warnings: Same ol' but there is some stronger swearing near the end. It has its purpose. Sorry to anyone who is offended.

* * *

"One's friends are that part of the human race with which one can be human."

-George Santayana

* * *

_bamf_

The sound was barely louder than a whisper as Kurt fell on the wet pavement. His body was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. He was crying, but not out of anger or pain, but because he had lost the last piece of normalcy that he had; a family. The moment he bit down on Scott's arm was the moment that he lost everything.

He struggled to pull himself off of the ground as the rain pummeled his back. His arms shook greatly as he pushed up his small body into a sitting position, leaning against a wooden box. He pulled in his legs and tail, sitting in a ball, trying to conserve body heat while the rain drenched his tired body. Shivers ran through him as the cold seeped into him through his fur and clothing. The only warmth he could feel were the hot tears of loss that flowed down his furry cheeks.

He picked up his tail and inspected the spade. No one would see it if they weren't looking for it, but to Kurt it was as visible as a giant in a crowd of midgets. On his tail was a long, faint scar. It still made him cringe when he thought about how much it had hurt when they villagers had put that nail through his tail to keep him from running. They hadn't cared that he was merely a child, having just turned five; they had thought he was a possessed individual. Even worse was that when a regular exorcism hadn't worked, they conducted a harsher, more physical one, believing he was just possessed by a stronger demon.

Then, _that_ man showed up. He could handle the torment of the villagers, he even forgave them, but _that_ man was what haunted him.

Kurt pushed the thoughts away; he didn't want to think about that, but his words still rang in his mind when he slept. 'I will release you from your pain.'

Kurt hugged his tail and knees closer as a gust of wind blew and pushed the cold deeper into his body. He was soaked and knew if he didn't get out of the rain soon, he could get seriously ill. He looked around and tried to figure out here he had teleported to. He saw the water's edge, lights, crates, nothing really that distinctive. Then he looked down and saw lettering in below the puddle that had accumulated around him.

"Bayville Shipping Yard," he read aloud. _I'm at the docks and that means warehouses!_ thought Kurt. He turned around and tried to see though the sheets of rain that pounded mercilessly on the grey concrete. He could barely make out the silhouette of a large, sheet metal building about a hundred yards away, a building that would have been invisible to anyone else. _Gottlob (1) for night vision_, thought Kurt.

Unable to teleport, Kurt quickly looked around to see if anyone else was out in this hellish weather, but when sighting no one, he ran on all fours to one of the warehouse's windows to peek inside.

The interior was quiet and dark. Kurt moved to one of the side doors, and finding it locked, knew what he had to do, even if he would regret it. He closed his eyes, concentrated on accumulating any spare energy he could find, and with a pained grunt, teleported inside the building where he fell unconscious to the cold, wet floor amidst the wooden storage boxes.

* * *

"Jean, professor, have either of you, like, found anything yet?" asked Kitty nervously.

"No," said Jean irritably, "and I will tell you the same thing I told you two minutes ago. We will let you know when we find something, otherwise let us concentrate."

Kitty sat back in her chair and crossed her arms before looking at the rest of the X-men that were in the x-jet. Rogue was sitting silently, looking out the window as if she were going to see Kurt somewhere far below. The only other occupant in the plane, other than Hank, who was flying, was Scott. Even through his ruby sunglasses Kitty could tell his mind was reeling; that he was mentally beating himself up for causing Kurt to leave.

Kitty got up and went over to sit by Scott. "You know it's not your fault, right?"

Scott continued to stare at his bandaged arm. "How can you say that?" he asked sadly. "You were there, too. You saw how I disobeyed the professor's orders and touched Kurt. If I had just left him alone like the professor said, Kurt wouldn't have reacted that way and felt he had to leave."

"But you have to think of _why_ you went to Kurt, he wasn't breathing, remember?"

"I know," he said sadly, "but look at what happened." Scott looked out the window. "What if we don't find him?"

"Scott, he left without money, clothes, or food," she began to reassure. "He'll get hungry and cold in a few hours and, like, come home. We'll apologize, talk to him, and maybe, like, even get him to tell us about the dreams."

"Yeah, but I still should have listened to the professor. If I had, maybe Kurt wouldn't have…"

"Listen, Scott," she interrupted, "if you hadn't done what you did, like, I would have. When you said he wasn't breathing, I actually wanted to go to him, but, like, you scared me when you yelled. I phased into the floor." She smiled and let out a small laugh. "Better you than me anyway. Like, by the looks of things, he would have torn through my arm. You at least won't break like a twig like I would."

Scott let out a small laugh as well. "Yeah, he's stronger than he looks. Who knew he had a death grip like that?"

"Like, not me," said Kitty. The two fell into a silence that lasted for a long while before the silence was broken by Scott.

"What if he doesn't forgive me?" asked Scott.

"For what, like, trying to help him out of his nightmare?" said Kitty sarcastically.

"Not just that, for everything," he said. "I'm always harping on him about keeping his inducer on. Maybe...maybe he thinks he is a monster because I make him feel like he looks like one. What if he thinks that we all think he's a monster because of his appearance? Me telling him to always hide what he looks like doesn't help! What if he thinks we really are afraid of him?!" said Scott, becoming more frantic with every word.

"Whoa, Scott," said Kitty placing a hand on his arm, being carful not to touch his bandages, "like, calm down. Where is all of this coming from?"

Scott took a deep breath and let it out to relax himself. "It's something I've been thinking about since dinner last night. I tell myself everyday I have to back off when it comes to Kurt, but then he does something like dancing on the table with his tail showing or turning of his watch and teleporting out of school. It just irks me that he would take chances like that. I just...I just get so..."

"Mad?" Kitty finished for him.

"No, scared!" he said causing to look at him confused. "I worry about what would happen to Kurt if he was exposed. I remember how we reacted when we first saw him, and I can only imagine what mutant-haters would do if they saw him. Look how they treated us and we look like them. I just have images of Kurt in some experimental facility pop into my head every time he pulls something like that! I'm such a bad friend."

"Scott, don't say that," cooed Kitty.

"But I am," he said. "I probably confuse him with duel standards. I tell him to look human when we are in public, but want him to look like himself in the mansion. I don't want him to be ashamed of what he is and what he looks like, but I still tell him to hide it."

"But he knows why, Scott," she said gently. "I think we all give Kurt less credit than he deserves when it comes to that area. Don't you think he's thought about what will happen the first time he's seen? He's probably played the scene in his head, like, a thousand times and in just as many ways it could turn out. I don't think you confuse him, Scott, like, I think this whole situation confuses him in general."

"He just takes so many chances."

"But I don't think he means to," Kitty said. "Think about it, like, this is the first time in his life that Kurt hasn't had to hide from everyone. This is the first time he has ever had friends or been able to go to school. The things we are able to do everyday and take for granted is, like, the greatest gift Kurt has ever been given."

"I just want him to feel like he's normal," said Scott sadly, "especially around us."

"And I think he does, well, before tonight," said Kitty. "If he didn't feel normal around us, he would always be thinking about his difference, always watching out for something that would expose him. These accidents that he has show that he, like, forgets that he is different every once and a while and lets his guard down. But, I think what I said tonight, like, really hurt him. I broke the trust we had and I just can't forgive myself for saying what I did."

"You think he'll forgive us?" asked Scott.

Kitty couldn't help but smile at the reverse of roles. Scott was normally the one giving her advice, and now, she felt like the older mutant, but her smile faded. "You, yes," she said, "but me, I'm not so sure."

There was another pregnant pause, but this time it was Jean that broke the silence.

"Professor, I got a glimpse of Kurt's mind," she said, squeezing her eyes shut tighter in an attempt to get a grasp on Kurt. Suddenly, she gasped and her eyes shot open.

"Jean," said the professor urgently, "what is it? What did you see?"

She stared at the professor with a look that was nothing short of utter terror. "Oh my God! Professor, we have to get to him now!"

* * *

"Ah!" yelled Kurt as he gasped and opened his eyes, sitting up so quickly that it made his head spin. _Ugh, that was not a very good idea, Genie (1)_, he thought holding his head until the room stood still again.

He pulled himself into a sitting position; knees pulled to his chest as he leaned against one of the wooden boxes, wrapping his tail around his ankles. He had never woken up utterly alone before. There was always a breakfast table full of students or his mother working in the kitchen that he could go to. He didn't like this, but he knew he would have to get used to it. He _was_ alone now.

He looked down at his wrist and cursed; he remembered he had smashed his watch last night and didn't grab his spare before he left. Now he would have to go back to sleeping during the day and venturing out at night. Looks like his friends the gargoyles were going be reacquainted with their long lost pal.

Suddenly, Kurt's ears picked up a noise that brought him from his tired state to complete alertness. They were faint, but they were defiantly coming from somewhere in the warehouse. Kurt was trying to figure out what the noise was when several more of that same sound joined the first. _Schei (2), footsteps, and by the sound of it, there's a lot of them! _thought Kurt anxiously.

"Damn, man, we was so close!" said a voice.

He began to get up in an attempt to scale the wall before the group found him, but his hopes were crushed as all of the lights flashed on. His only hope was to teleport out. He closed his eyes again and concentrated on finding even the smallest amount of extra energy to let him move one more time. This caused the room to spin again, but unfortunately didn't result in movement.

His world still spinning, Kurt listened to the conversation so he could determine if the voices belonged to any kind of threat. "I know, dog. Damn, we almost had that little muthafucka," came another voice, different from the first.

"Ran outta bullets, too." A third.

He held his head in his hands as he tried to steady the world again. These guys were definitely a major threat; sounded like gang members. _Mein only hope is that they do not find me_, thought Kurt.

He pulled out the hematite rosary that he always carried from his pocket on the inside chest of his uniform. Storm had been kind enough to add that little feature to his uniform per his request. He held the crucifix close to his lips and began to silently pray the prayer he had recited so many times.

_Der HERR ist mein Hirte, mir wird nichts mangeln._

_Er weidet mich auf einer grünen Aue und führet mich zum frischen Wasser._

_Er erquicket meine Seele. Er führet mich auf rechter Straße um seines Namens willen. _

_Und ob ich schon wanderte im finstern Tal, fürchte ich kein Unglück; denn du bist bei mir, dein Stecken und Stab trösten mich (3)..._

But his prayer was cut short and his heart nearly stopped.

The footsteps were getting closer…

* * *

Here you go Anony.Lover, another cliffhanger for ya! Ok, so the next update won't be until next week; Tuesday, maybe Thursday. I'm taking the weekend off. Sorry. Have a good Memorial Day weekend!

Translations

1- Genius

2- Shit

3- Psalm 23 in German

_The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want._

_He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters._

_He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake._

_Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me..._


	6. Carefull What You Wish For

StarShinobi here! Sorry about the long wait; I needed a little inspiration and the right mood to write this chapter. **It is very dark, you have been warned**. I also learned how much of a loser I am; I had to LOOK UP SLANG WORDS to write this chapter. How lame is that?!\

Disclaimer: ...Really? Every time...(huffs) x-men isn't mine...

Warnings: VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, **_DON'T FLAME ME ABOUT THESE TWO AREAS, YOU HAD A HEADS UP!!

* * *

_**

"Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it."

-Unknown

* * *

His prayer was cut short and his heart nearly stopped. The footsteps were getting closer…

His breathing increased to a rate near hyperventilation. His heart began to race a million miles a second. He curled into himself and pushed himself against the crates in an attempt to make himself disappear. _Maybe they won't find me,_ thought Kurt, hoping with all of his heart and soul that he would be right.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Kurt held his breath and listened for anything that could tell him what was about to happen. "Hey, dog," he heard a new voice whisper, "I think there's something back here."

Kurt's heart stopped and he suppressed the scared whimper that threatened to escape his lips. "It's probably a rat, man."

"Then it's gotta be a big ass rat," said the first, no longer quieting his voice. Kurt looked down and knew why they thought there was a big rat, his tail was flailing on the ground, kicking up dust from the floor and making a loud scratching sound. He grabbed the offending appendage in his hand and squeezed it tight to control it. _Verdammen,_ _halt den Mund__ und halten noch (1)!_ He screamed in his head.

He heard the footsteps resume, coming at him once again. He had never hated his tail and disfigured body as much as he hated it right now. It was about to get him caught.

"Well, what if it's a raccoon? Those muthafuckas got rabies, g!"

"In that case, bro, we'll get a li'l target practice with J-rod's lumber (2) then, aight?"

That was it. Kurt knew they were about to find him and he wasn't about to be taken without a fight. He uncurled his body and put himself in a crouching position, making him able to move at a moments notice. He put his hands on the ground, preparing to lunge at whoever looked over the boxes, hopefully stunning the group enough to allow him to escape.

Kurt watched intently as he saw the golden, spiked hair come into his view over the boxes. He tensed his muscles, and the moment the teen's green eyes were on him, he jumped forward, causing the young man to yell in shock.

Kurt used his acrobatic skills to jump onto the blonde's shoulders and use him as a springboard, getting more length out of his jump but still leaving the gangster unscathed. He hit the ground running on all fours.

"What the hell is that?" yelled one of the guys.

"It's a mutant!" yelled another.

Kurt ran towards the door. As he approached he started to run on two feet. He was home free! He placed his hand on the door handle and began to turn it when something grabbed his tail and pulled for all they were worth.

Kurt couldn't help but yell at the excruciating pain he felt. The person had twisted it and pulled, not only hurting his tail, but his back as well. He turned to try and get loose, but was only able to turn half way before something hit him in the gut. The breath was knocked out of him and he was almost positive he felt on of his ribs crack. He fell to his knees where he was met with a fist to the face and a kick to the side.

He fell to the ground, a position Wolverine had told him he should never find himself in: at the feet of a mob. He tried to get back up, only to catch a kick to his right arm and another punch to his left collar bone, pushing him back down to the ground. He began to try to crawl away though he knew he could never get away from the mob, it was just a last, desperate effort to try and get away from the pain that wracked his body.

Punches and kicks continued to barrage him until someone stepped on his tail, stopping him from crawling any further. He pulled himself into the fetal position, covering his face with his arms as the assault continued. He was just about to pass out when they suddenly stopped.

"Ah," mocked one of the voices, "look J-rod, mutie's too tired to fight back no more."

"Looks like you were right after all, Slim," said J-Rod, a bald, muscular boy who was obviously an all brawn and no brains type, "that is one big ass rat. Look, fucka's got a tail 'n everything." He stomped hard on Kurt's tail, causing him to push his face into the floor and scream in pain again.

"That bastard attacked me, dog!" yelled Slim, who was rightfully named. He was a skinny white boy with droopy pants, a white beater, and a large silver chain hanging from his pants. "Coulda killed me."

"Suck it up, Slim!" yelled a fourth gangster, a tall black boy with braided rows in his hair.

"Screw you, Demitri!" he yelled back.

Kurt felt himself being pulled up into a sitting position. He tried to struggle, panting as he tried, but the one they called Demitri came over and helped his 'homie' control him, grabbing one of his arms and forcing it behind his back. "Damn, Regg, he's furry," said the fifth and final member of the mob in disgust.

Regg, a muscular black boy with small brown eyes and short brown hair, grabbed Kurt's chin. Regg was obviously the one in charge as he was dressed a bit more upscale than the others and had that respected air about him. He looked Kurt in his eyes. The mutant looked in pain, but there was still a great amount of determination in those yellow orbs.

"Mayor's thinkin' about payin' people to catch mutants like him," said the fifth boy behind Kurt. "They're thinkin' about five G's per."

Regg's eyes went wide as he looked up at his lackey. "You serious, Brett?" Brett nodded his head. "Aight, we might as well make sure demon-boy here don't skip on us before we can cash in on 'im."

Kurt felt Brett and Demitri drag him over to a pipe and tie his hands behind his back using some spare rope from one of the crates. Pain radiated from his chest as he tried to breath and a sharp pain shot through his back as he tried to move his tail.

"J-rod," said Regg, "I think you need some battin' practice." Kurt's eyes went wide and his head shot up at the comment that only brought maniacal laughter from the rest of the gang.

Kurt watched as J-rod dragged his wooden bat on the floor as he approached, creating a haunting noise that echoed in the large warehouse. He lifted the bat onto his shoulder as if getting ready for a pitch and Kurt closed his eyes to ready himself for the blow. He heard a _whoosh_ and then felt the pain as the hard wooden object connected with his left arm.

Kurt was barely able to scream before another blow hit him on his right side, the sound of cracking bone creating an eerie, echoing melody with his agonized yells.

Slim ran forward and grabbed Kurt's tail as he pulled something out of his pocket, flipping it open. Kurt cried out as Slim had grabbed the part of his tail that was causing the pain to run through his spine. He felt something pierce the skin halfway up his tail.

Tears were running down his furry face. "Halten! Bitte! Ich tat nichts! (3)"

"Speak English, Demon," said Slim.

"Ich bin nicht ein Dämon!" Kurt cried. "I am not a demon!"

Kurt felt Slim run the knife down his tail to its tip, but before he could yell from that, J-rod brought the bat down on his left collarbone, breaking his slim bone.

Kurt's mouth opened in a silent scream, but he could make no sound come out. It hurt, it hurt so much. He would give anything, _anything_ for it to stop. Suddenly, a ring of fire surrounded him and the gangsters.

"What the hell," yelled Regg, "who started the fire?"

None of his guys answered. "Let's bounce!" yelled Demitri.

"What about mutie over there?" yelled Slim.

"Leave 'im," said J-rod. "Dude ain't worth it!"

Kurt watched with heavy eyes as the thugs ran out the door just before it was engulfed in flame. His heart began to race again in panic, but his body was in so much pain he was unable to act pn it.

He saw a figure starting to form in the flames and suddenly, he regretted thinking _anything_.

* * *

So, I know that was very angsty, but if you read the earlier chapters, you should know it has it's place. Reviews are always welcome and ideas are as well. I'll try to update soon, but I need to put some work into my CSI fics pretty soon here too. My beta is getting impatient :).

BTW, sorry again for the bad slang!

Translations

1- Damn it, shut up and hold still!

2- Slang for a baseball bat

3- Stop! Please! I didn't do anything (I did nothing)!


	7. Reunion

Yay for yet another quick update!! Thank you to everyone for your reviews! Especially...

**dvid0703**

**PurplePoof**

**kat priestley**

**Anony.Lover**

**fiddlin' nero**

**blueonyx**

and **WarrinPeace**

Disclaimer:..not mine...

Warning:...same

* * *

"The past has a way of catching up with you, no matter how hard you try to shake it off."

-Unknown

* * *

Puddles became tormented pools as the x-jet descended onto the cement docks of the port. They had known Kurt was in this general area, but the blaze they had seen from the air was what brought them down.

Before Storm even could lower the ramp, Kitty phased though the side of the jet and started running for the burning warehouse. "Kurt!" she screamed frantically as she ran, the cold rain drenching her hair, causing it to slip from her ponytail. "KURT!"

"Kitty, wait!" yelled Scott as he jumped from the jet.

_Kitty, stop!_ the professor said telepathically. _You can't go in there!_

Kitty wouldn't listen as she continued to run. She caught her foot on the edge of a crate and fell into a large puddle. She could hear someone running after her as she pushed herself up onto her knees, crying heavily. She felt a pair of strong hands help her to her feet. "KURT!" she yelled again, attempting to run but being thwarted by her helper's iron grip as he pulled her into his chest.

"Kitty, the professor said we can't go in," said Scott sadly. "It's just too dangerous!"

"I don't care," she yelled phasing through his hands. "My best friend is in there and, like, I need to help him!" She began to run again, but was suddenly lifted into the air. "Jean, please let me help him," she cried, tears going unnoticed by the others due to the rain, her hair shielding her face.

"Kitty," said the professor calmly, "you don't understand the situation…"

Suddenly, the door of the warehouse burst open and five very frightened individuals ran out before it was engulfed in flame. "What the hell was that, dog?" they heard one yell.

"I dunno and I don't want to figure it out, man!" yelled another.

Xavier saw Logan start to go after the boys. "No, Logan," he said calmly. "They are not what we should worry about right now. We can deal with them later. I am more worried about who remained inside with Kurt."

"You think that guy you were talking about earlier is in there, Chuck?" asked Logan, but he needed no verbal answer. The subtle look of worry and anger on the older man's face was enough.

"Tell us, like, what is going on!" screamed Kitty, still fighting to get her feet back on the ground.

The professor pressed his hands together and let out a sigh. He was unsure if Kurt would want him to tell the others about his situation, but right now he felt the others needed to know in order to save him. He looked at each of his friends and students, all of them watching him attentively as they waited for him to speak. He made his decision; he would only tell them the little information they needed to know.

"There is a very powerful mutant after Kurt…"

* * *

The heat around Kurt increased as the flames grew larger and moved closer. The smoke that was beginning to fill the wood framed building burned his lungs, but he was not able to concentrate on that.

What he could concentrate on was the dark figure that was slowly generating within the flames. Slowly, Kurt could make out his thick tail, his pointed ears and finally, those terrible black eyes. He stood within the flames, the smell of brimstone starting to fill the air overpowering the woody smoke.

The terrible creature started to walk toward him and Kurt's breath caught in his throat, his heart racing again, but he was too tired and too sore to move. The red man crouched in front of him until their eyes were at the same level. "Guten Tag, Kurt," he said in his dark voice, placing his hand on Kurt's injured shoulder.

Kurt suppressed his desire to cry out in pain; he didn't want to give that satisfaction to this man. "Please," he gasped tiredly, "please…don't…hurt me."

"But I thought you would give _anything_ to get rid of this pain, Kurt," he said giving his shoulder a squeeze.

Kurt tried to pull away, but he was still tied to the pole thwarting all hopes of escape. This time he was unable to hold back the whimper that pushed at him for escape. A smile crept across the man's face exposing his long white fangs.

"Not this," he panted, "I won't…help you!" He was yelling, but it didn't come out as anything more than a horse cry.

"You are the only one left that I need, boy," said the man as Kurt continued to struggle against him. "Your brothers have already surrendered their lives to me."

"Stefan didn't die because of you, it was because of…" Kurt stumbled over his words, unable to admit what had happened. Then, a sudden realization hit him. "You caused Stefan to do those horrible things, didn't you?" yelled Kurt in shock, only to receive another menacing smile from the demon-man. Kurt pulled against his restraints. He could feel the skin around his wrists starting to tear as the ropes pulled on them, but he didn't care. Now, rather than wanting to get away from this man, he wanted to get his hands on him and tear him apart. His collarbone screamed for him to stop, but he had found new energy from rage that pushed him forward. "You caused all that pain?!"

"I needed to get to you," he said calmly. "There are certain laws that prohibit me from this world. I needed him to create a situation in which I could find you, much like when you were younger, but Charles Xavier got in the way. However, I was not speaking of your imbecile adopted brother; I was talking about your half-brothers."

_Half-what?!_ thought Kurt. Those words ceased his struggles. "I have…"

"T'e (1)" said the demon, the smile broadening on his face.

"And they're…"

His smile grew to an evilly large size. "Ken (2)!" A laugh escaped his lips, so malicious that even Magneto would fall to his knees and beg for mercy. "You, my dear boy, are the only one left. Once you surrender to me, I will be free to walk the Earth again. After all, you were the one I truly needed all along."

"What…do you…mean?" he asked, gasping again as the adrenaline disappeared and the pain attacked him with new vigor and with reinforcements.

"I'm trapped in the Brimstone dimension, Kurt, the one you go through when you teleport. I need your life force to be able to teleport out of that dimension and stay in this one. I needed your brothers' for their strength. I could do it without theirs, but I can't do it without yours."

The demon moved his hand toward Kurt's face, touching his cheek. "It's time, Kurt," he said gently.

"No!" he screamed, pulling his face away from the man's hand. "I won't…help you!" He was scared and tired. He tried to bite the man's hand, like he had done to his tail before to get away, but his body was sore and slow from the beating. The man easily pulled his hand away from Kurt before grabbing his shoulder again.

Kurt yelled in pain. "Now, now, none of that," he scolded.

He let go of Kurt's shoulder, causing to pant again in pain. He grabbed Kurt by the chin and forced the elf to look into his wicked black eyes. "I…won't…help…" Kurt started to say, but he could not finish. As he stared into the man's eyes, he slowly began to feel his control of his body disappear. His entire body relaxed, but his mind was racing. _Ich will nicht sterben _(3)_!_ thought Kurt frantically.

"It's time, Diablo," he said quietly, his tail slashing the air behind him in anticipation.

Kurt's heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest as he saw the tail coming toward him. Mustering enough of his remaining energy, he was able to regain control of his mouth. "Der HERR…ist mein Hirte…mir…wird nichts…mangeln…" he choked out as the tail began to constrict around his neck, tears flowing down his singed blue cheeks.

"What is that rubbish," scolded the man. "Speak English, Diablo!"

Kurt swallowed with great difficulty before starting again, having even more difficulty as the appendage continued to cut off his air. "The Lord…is…my…shepherd…" he said, continuing to the point in which he could no longer get the air out of his lungs. His hands became hot before he felt a pressure release around his wrists. His hands were now free, but still to weak to do much.

The man began to laugh. "Don't be foolish, Kurt. There is no God." He saw Kurt's right arm start to move. _Insolent boy, you're too weak to fight me._ He thought, smiling to himself. But to his amazement, Kurt did not move to fight, he reached under his shirt and pulled out a hematite rosary before letting his bloodied hand drop to the ground again, clutching the object of his faith.

Kurt continued to move his lips in prayer, choking out a word here and there. The edges of his vision blurred into blackness and his head felt heavy as the blood fought for movement. He did not concentrate on that though. Rather, he found himself concentrating on his friends, how much he was going to miss them, and the smooth stone cross he was rubbing with his large fingers. "…fear no……thou… with me…"

"Stupid child," yelled the demon as he pulled Kurt from the floor with his tail and stared him in the eyes again, "if there was a God, he would send your damn friends to save you!"

Suddenly, a burst of red energy flew through the wall, creating an enormous hole in which entered the X-men. Wolverine jumped at the demon, forcing him to drop a limp Kurt to the ground.

"Kurt!" yelled Kitty as she took off toward her best friend. Just as she was about to reach him, a second ring of fire appeared around the blue elf. Kitty gasped and stepped back from the heat, but she could hear him gasping for breath within his crackling cage.

Kitty turned just in time to see Logan fly by her and see the red man lunging toward her. Jean pulled her back telepathically and out of harms way. Just before she left, she saw Kurt shake his head in an attempt to pull himself back from the edge of unconsciousness.

The students could only stare at the mutant that stood before them. He was an exact match to the images of the Devil they saw as children that it frightened many of them. "Professor," said Scott, "who is that?"

The professor was not paying attention to his students though; he was more concerned with getting Kurt out of here alive and unharmed. Unfortunately, using his telepathic powers, he knew that the later of those two hopes had already been obliterated. "Azazel," he yelled in a voice full of such anger that none of the students had ever heard it before, "stop this madness at once."

"You say that as if you have a voice in the matter," Azazel retorted in a harsh voice. "The boy will be killed to release the neyaphem!"

"That boy is like a son to me, Azazel," said Beast as he charged at the demon, "and I will do anything to protect him!"

He lunged at Azazel and the demon slashed his hand through the air, releasing an energy blast which struck Beast dead on. Beast was thrown backward and landed on his back where he remained, paralyzed by Azazel's power. "Touching," he said dully, "but the boy _is_ my son."

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Way to go PurplePoof! You called it! Like always, review please. I always love to hear from my readers!

Translations

1- Yes in Egyptian

2- Yes in Hebrew

3- I don't want to die!


	8. Unwanted Truths

Sorry this one is so late AND so short. I'm working on a lot of stuff right now and since this one is windign down to the end, I guess it just kinda fell of my radar for a while. I will try to update sooner. Thanks and sorry again!

Disclaimer and warnings are same as always.

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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

- _J.K. Rowling (In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)_

* * *

"Mr. McCoy!" yelled Spike, running to the huge man's side.

"No, Spike," yelled the professor, "stay back."

An evil smirk played across Azazel's face as he slashed his hand though the air again. "Jean!" yelled the professor.

She didn't need to professor to reiterate any more than that. Placing her hands on her temples, she pulled both Evan and Beast back toward the group. Not a second later, the black energy that had been released by the demon crashed where the pair had been. When the smoke cleared, the floor where the blast had hit was completely dissolved.

The X-Men looked at the destruction in awe and fear. "Professor, I can…" began Rogue before she was cut off by the professor.

"No, Rogue," he said sternly, leaving no room for question or discussion, "under no circumstances will you touch that mutant, do you understand me?" Rogue nodded her head. "He is one of the most powerful mutants of all time; an ancient mutant existing since biblical times. You are not strong enough to control his powers."

"Professor, is he really…?" asked Kitty, though she was unable to finish. How could someone so evil be the father of someone so kind?

"His father? I'm afraid so." The professor turned to Scott, feeling that the boy deserved an explanation. "When Kurt bit you, I caught glimpses of his dreams. He was dreaming of the last time he encountered Azazel. He escaped by biting the man's tail."

"Yes," said Azazel with a voice filled with venom and mocking, "and then you had to show up on the next occasion and bring him out of Germany." He began walking toward the X-Men, staring at them with his black eyes of abyss. The team readied themselves for a fight, but their courage quickly faded as they saw Professor Xavier backing away as the demon approached. "I would have escaped my prison with his blood that day if you had not frozen the village."

"Then I showed up at exactly the right time," said Charles. "That boy deserves to live a life without fear, without you haunting his every thought! That poor boy suffers because of you!"

"Well then," he smirked, turning his back to the X-Men again, "we'll just have to end that suffering then, won't we?"

He began to walk back toward Kurt and Xavier's mind began to reel. He didn't know how to stop this mutant, he was too dangerous to fight and too powerful to try and enter his mind. He needed to protect Kurt, but he could think of no way to do it.

The group suddenly saw the ring of fire around Kurt begin to disappear as Azazel approached it. The X-Men looked on helplessly as a singed Kurt tried to crawl away from the red mutant. Wolverine could just make out the boy's words.

"Berühren mich nicht," he said quietly as he strained to get away, muscles screaming, bones scraping and mind filled with fear.

"Hold still, boy," said the monster, stomping on Kurt's blue tail, "it will all be over soon."

The group of X-Men grimaced as Kurt's pained yelp filled the warehouse. Azazel's tail reached behind its wielder's back and pulled a short broadsword from out of nowhere.

"Leave him alone," yelled Scott as he released an energy blast at the red mutant, but Azazel batted the attack away with his sword as if it were a fly. Scott fired again and again but they all resulted the same way.

"This is becoming tiring," said Azazel. He slashed his sword through the air and struck Scott with the same energy he had attacked Beast with, sending him into a paralyzed state.

"Scott!" yelled Jean as she ran to his side.

"Now," said Azazel turning back to Kurt, his smirk returning to glow in the firelight, back to business."

Kurt couldn't help the whine that escaped from his lips as he tried desperately to get away. Azazel took the sword in his hand and used his tail to smack Kurt's head in order to stop his movement. _His spade is…sharp!_ thought Kurt as he felt blood dripping down his neck from the new gash behind his ear.

He couldn't move. His body was too tired, so he stopped his attempt to escape. Azazel removed his foot from Kurt's tail and used it to roughly kick the boy from his stomach onto his back. Kurt let out a pained grunt as his body flipped like a ragdoll. Azazel bent down over Kurt and placed the blade on his throat.

"Look at them," said Azazel pushed Kurt's face toward his teammates, "not even moving to help you." Kurt felt his chest tighten as his attacker said this; they weren't going to help him. His head was turned back to face those horrid black eyes. "You are one of a kind, my boy; you're not like them. You, Kurt, are part of the neyaphem; superior to all of them combined. Losing you will be a large blow to us, but you will be a hero, setting us free."

"Ich weigere mich, Ihnen zu helfen (1)," said Kurt quietly as he felt the blade starting to nip at his neck.

"You no longer have a choice, son," said Azazel, and Kurt's eyes widened in shock.

The flames had prevented him from hearing this earlier, but now it was clear. The shock he felt when he learned Mystique was his mother was nothing in comparison to what he had learned now. Tears fell from his eyes; he _had_ been born of the devil.

_I am ein Dämon,_ thought Kurt. Everything Kitty had said earlier was true; every person who had ever seen him and screamed in terror was right. Everything he had believed about himself was shattered and he didn't want to live knowing he was the creation of evil. A sudden despair covered Kurt and he unconsciously lifted his head to give Azazel better access to his neck.

"That's it, my son," he cooed, smiling as the boy finally gave up. He pulled the sword back and prepared to take his son's life.

* * *

Review please and I'm sorry this one was so bad and short.

Translations

1- I refuse to help you.


	9. What I Am

Ok, sorry for the late update, but I have been stuck on what to do for this story and I have a criminology midterm coming up. Nonetheless, the warnings and disclaimers are the same and I will try and update again as soon as I can after I get back from my vacation. Reviews are always welcomed. Also, the translations have been added to chapter 8. Thank you **Muria **for pointing out to me so I could fix that. I can be such a blonde ;)

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"Do not let the past dictate who you are, but let it become a part of who you will be."

- _Nicki- "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"_

* * *

"_That's it, my son," he cooed, smiling as the boy finally gave up. He pulled the sword back and prepared to take his son's life._

Everyone says that when they meet possibly life-threatening situations their life flashes before their eyes, but not me. I didn't want to think about all of the things I was about to leave behind, but then again, I am a monster, ein Dämon. My life had been hard, but it had been good. I had a loving mother and father who took care of me the best they could, I had a great opportunity given to me by the professor, and I was very devoted in my faith. I truly believed that if I did my best and was the best person that I could be, that I would get into heaven on Judgment Day, for Mathew says 'Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'

But what about a demon?

I close mein eyes and ready myself for the pain I know is coming. Everything seems to go in slow motion. I reopen my eyes and everything around me seems clear, every one of my senses is picking up something. Fath…Azazel draws back his sword, its silver blade glistening in the red firelight, before he began to thrust it forward. I can hear screams from my old team resonating through the metal building and the heat from the flames pushing against me. I can smell singed fir and clothing and the metallic taste of blood sits in my mouth as I feel it seep from every wound.

So, can an imp, born of the devil himself, make it into heaven? I close my eyes again. _I guess I'm about to find out…_

* * *

Kurt swallowed hard and closed his eyes as Azazel began to thrust his sword forward with a sick smile on his face. _Finally, I will be able to return to Earth and reclaim what is mine!_ thought Azazel.

"KURT!" yelled an angry, female voice and before Azazel could finish off his son, a small girl tackled him to the ground. His blade was knocked to the side when she hit him, causing it to miss its target and slice into Kurt's injured shoulder instead, jamming itself in the floor.

Kurt had opened his eyes when the girl called his name and was just able to make out a very pissed looking Kitty Pride tackling the red mutant to the ground. He bit back a scream as the sword hit his shoulder, but was relieved when Azazel lost his grip on it, leaving it jammed in the floor and unable to hurt her.

Azazel sat stunned on the floor as the thin girl continued to hit and punch him in the head as she sat on his chest. When the shock finally wore off, the look of anger resurfaced on the demon's face. Kitty continued to assault the man, but her blows appeared to affect him as much as a light summer breeze would a mountain.

His hand shot up and struck the girl across the face, effectively throwing her off of him and sending her to the floor. He pointed his hand at the flames and lift it, raising the height of the flames in turn.

"Kitty!" yelled Evan from the crowd, but he could not go and help her. Not only were the flames to high, he couldn't go against the professor's orders like Scott had, but by the looks of it, the professor was struggling keeping them himself.

Azazel picked himself off of the floor and brushed the dust off his clothes before advancing on the brunette who was pushing herself up from the floor.

"Kitty…look…out," she heard Kurt try to yell from the other side of the fire ring, his voice hoarse and soft. She turned, ready to perform another assault on the enemy, but soon found it too late.

As soon as she had turned, Azazel shot his hand out and struck her again, sending her flying toward Kurt, slamming to the floor, and sliding to a halt on Kurt's right side. She began to push herself up and looked at Kurt. His eyes widened as he took in what he saw. His Kätzchen, his beautiful Kätzchen had a large welt on her face from where the man had stuck her, a deep purple bruise beginning to force its way onto her reddened skin. Her lip was split and a small stream of blood was leaking down her chin. Her hair was wet and disheveled, but she still looked elegant and beautiful.

"Don't worry, Kurt," she said gently, "we're going to get you out of here."

She pushed herself onto her knees and began to stand, planting her feet firmly as she stood. "No," said Kurt, still pained and tired, "Kitty, you should…run. Leave me…he's too…strong."

Kurt looked up as he heard footsteps come to a halt near them. His eyes landed on Azazel and fear shot through him at the sight of those horrible black eyes, the eyes that had given him so much pain. Kitty stood boldly between father and son in an attempt to keep the former away from the latter. Blood dripped off her chin onto her uniform as she seemed to growl at the man.

"Move, wench," said Azazel.

"No," said Kitty defiantly, only to receive another strike with his tail, this time to her side, throwing her to the floor with a pained gasp.

"Kitty," called Kurt as he tried to get up to help her, sending a flash of pain though his body as the sword cut deeper. He fell back to the floor with a pained yelp.

"Disobedient pests," growled Azazel as he moved to step forward, only to have Kitty get back up and stand in her way. "Move you insolent girl!"

"No!" she yelled. "I won't let you hurt him anymore!"

Azazel's tail slashed at her again. She put up her arms to defend herself only to receive a large gash on both her forearms. She yelled in pain as he knocked them to the side and used his sharp barb to lash out at her face, cutting her cheek before she fell to the ground.

"Kitty," yelled Kurt, "please stop."

Still she continued to be rebellious and stood once more. Azazel's eyes flashed dangerously with fury. "You should know your place, girl!"

"It's here, between you and Kurt!" she yelled, fire burning in her eyes.

He didn't give her time to defend herself this time as he brutally attacked her, striking her stomach and sides with his fists. He slammed her head with his tail, throwing her to the ground facing Kurt. "Hizdamnût achronâ, yaldâ (1)."

"Kitty," Kurt said desperately, tears welling in his eyes as he watched her struggling to her feet again. "Please, Kätzchen, just let him by. I don't want to see you get hurt anymore. I'm not worth it. I'm a demon!" He couldn't stop the tears from running down his face.

"When are you going to get it through your head, you fuzzy elf," she said playfully, but in a tired, pain-filled voice. "You're part of the team, and you never abandon a teammate when there is danger."

Kurt stared at her in wonder until a furious growl was heard from the red man. Kitty faced the man insolently, but was soon struck down by the demon's powerful paralyzing blast. She fell onto her stomach, very close to Kurt and looking into his face, and finally unable to get back up.

"Kitty, why would you…" Kurt began, but he was interrupted.

"Kurt, I hope you'll forgive me," she said quietly.

"Kitty…"

"I don't care if you are still mad at me; I deserve that, but please, give everyone a second chance. What we said to you…what _I_ said to you, wasn't right. But Kurt, please believe me when I say that I'm sorry, I don't think any of us was thinking when we said those things. We were angry, not at you, but at the people that hurt us yesterday, and you got the brunt of it. I know that doesn't make up for what we did, but I'm begging you to give us a second chance."

Kurt had noticed her valley girl 'like's' had disappeared from her speech; something that happened only when she was being completely sincere. "Kätzchen, I…"

"And Kurt, don't believe him. Everyone knows you're not a demon. You're our fuzzy elf and my best friend. I don't know what I would do if I knew I couldn't go to you for advice, or a laugh, or…" A tear fell from her eye and Kurt awkwardly moved his right arm to wipe it off her cheek. "Just remember that all that matters in the end is who you are, not what you are."

"Kätzchen…"

A red tail shot toward them and wrapped itself around Kitty's neck, lifting her into the air. "Nein," yelled Kurt as he tried to get up to help her, but soon shot back to the floor in agony as the sword continued to cut his flesh. He wrapped his hand around the hilt in an attempt to hold himself still and stop the pain.

"Why do you protect this boy, girl?" asked the man, his voice menacing. "He is not like you and is needed to free the neyaphem."

"Like…I don't know…what the…neyaphem are," Kitty gasped as the tail cut off her air, finding that the blast had also paralyzed her powers, "but Kurt's…my friend. He is the…kindest and…most caring person…I know and I…won't let…anything…happen to him. I know…if I was in…his position…he would do…the same…for…me." I was getting harder and harder for her to breathe!

"My dear," cooed the evil demon as he brought her to his eyes level, "you _are_ in his position."

Kitty could feel the pressure in her head starting to build as every cell in her body screamed for air. Nonetheless, she smiled at the demon who in turn gave her a very confused glare. "I know…that's…why I…know it…will…be…ok."

Suddenly, there was an angry yell and Azazel's eyes opened wide in pain. His grip on Kitty released and as she fell to the floor, she took in a deep breath of sweet air before falling into unconsciousness.

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Yay! Please review and I would like to say that the reason I have Azazel speaking Hebrew is because he is said to be a mutant from Biblical times. I was originally going to have him speak the form of Arabic that they speak in Egypt, but I couldn't find the translations for that. I think both are beautiful languages though.

Translations

1- Last chance, girl. _Hebrew_


	10. What I'm Not

So, it has been _way_ the hell too long since I updated this story. I am SO sorry, but you have to understand the kind of pressure my classes put me under. Being a biochemistry student kicks you in the ass. However, I am back on the horse now and this story will be finished in the next month or so. Thank you to you all who review my story and make me feel like what I am doing is worthwhile. So, without further ado, here is chapter 10 of I am Not a Demon…

Warnings: same

Disclaimer: same… I wish I owned Kurt =^_^=

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"A friend is someone who, upon seeing another friend in immense pain, would rather be the one experiencing the pain than to have to watch their friend suffer."

~Unknown

* * *

Xavier could not help but stare as Kitty struggled against the demonic being, taking strike after strike. _Kitty_, said Xavier telepathically to his pupil, _stand down. You don't stand a chance against him! _Xavier watched in horror as the red demon struck his student with his powerful fists, sending her flying across the room and landing with a loud thud.

_Kitty, please listen to me,_ he said frantically.

_No_, came the reply, her mental voice full of determination.

_Kitty, you know how powerful Azazel is. You have to retreat or he will kill you!_

Xavier awaited her reply, sweat on his brow from the demonic flames dripping down his face as he stared through them. After another blow from the red demon, Kitty replied, causing Xavier to be taken aback.

_I don't care,_ she said matter-of-factly. _I won't sit by and watch this happen. Only a coward would save his own life over his friend's. I would rather die trying to save him than live knowing I could have done more. Kurt would have done it for any of us._

_Kitty…,_ he said, but he felt her close his mind off to him. Xavier sighed sadly, yet smiled slightly. Kitty had grown so much in the past couple of years, even to the point of giving him advice. She was right; they needed to act, despite the horrible consequences.

"I am sorry, Kitty," Xavier whispered to himself, "I have been a fool." He turned his attention to the group. "Jean, do you think you could get the roof off of this building?"

Jean stared at the Professor in shock of the magnitude of power he was asking for. "I…I think so," she stammered.

Xavier sent her a quick smile. "I know you can. Storm" he said, again averting his attention, "once Jean has removed the roof, I need you to concentrate the rain on the flames. We cannot get through unless they are out. Can you do that?"

"As sure as the winds blow, Charles," she said with a smile, lifting herself into the sky.

"Excellent, in the mean time, Iceman, I need you to work on cooling down the flames; make a break in the line for Logan to get through."

"Sure thing, Professor," said the eager teen as he began to barrage the fire with ice. Though it did little, it was working.

"Chuck, why don't I just run through," said Logan, almost annoyed, "I'll heal."

"I know you will, Logan," said Xavier as he inspected the team's progress, "but only your body will. This is demonic flames; one of the few things that can melt adamantium. Your claws and shielding on your bones with deform."

"I'm willing to take that chance," Logan growled.

"Let us try this first, if it doesn't work soon, then you may try," said Xavier calmly.

_Professor! He's got her. He's killing her! Helfen ihr bitte (1)!_ Kurt's voice weakly screamed in Xavier's mind. Nonetheless, it caused him to visibly wince at its intensity.

Xavier placed his fingers on his temples. _Kurt, we're coming. Hold on._

His reaction was not lost to Wolverine as he looked toward the middle of the fire ring. "We gotta hurry, Chuck," he said quickly to the telepath as he took in the sight of Kitty hanging in the air. "Half-pint doesn't have much time."

"I know, Logan," said Xavier as he released a sigh. Jean was having troubles with the building's roof, even with the enlisted help of Rouge. He could hear the steel bending, but he was not sure they could put out the flames in time. He returned his attention to Logan, still waiting for orders. Xavier nodded to the man. "Do what you must to save them," he said simply.

With a nod, Logan began to run at the flames, ready to break through them despite the damage his body would ensue. Just as he was about to enter, a yell filled with anger and fortitude reverberated throughout the building quickly followed by one of pain, causing Logan to cease his advance.

A loud groaning of metal drowned out the two yells as Jean and Rouge finally pried the roof loose from its frame, pushing it off of the building with a exasperated grunt. Immediately the rain began to fly into the building, drowning the hellish flames and drenching the occupants of the building to the bone with its cold shower as they stared at the scene in front of them in shock.

* * *

"And Kurt, don't believe him. Everyone knows you're not a demon. You're our fuzzy elf and my best friend. I don't know what I would do if I knew I couldn't go to you for advice, or a laugh, or…" A tear fell from her eye and Kurt awkwardly moved his right arm to wipe it off her cheek. "Just remember that all that matters in the end is who you are, not what you are."

"Kätzchen…," he said softly, he didn't want her to cry.

Suddenly, a red tail shot toward them and wrapped itself around Kitty's neck, lifting her into the air. "Nein," yelled Kurt as he tried to get up to help her, but soon shot back to the floor in agony as the sword continued to cut his flesh. He wrapped his hand around the hilt in an attempt to hold himself still and stop the pain.

Tears of pain, frustration, and most of all, anger welled in his eyes as he helplessly watched Azazel hold Kitty by her neck so her feel could not reach the floor. He could feel his strength leaving from him as his hands slipped from the sword and the darkness of unconsciousness began to creep into his vision.

_Nein, I have to stay awake! _he thought. His mind raced as to how he could help his friend. He caught a blurry glimpse of Xavier through the flames and decided to try and call for help.

_Professor! He's got her. He's killing her! Helfen ihr bitte (1)!_ he weakly screamed, desperately hoping they could find a way through the wall of flames.

_Kurt, we're coming. Hold on,_ Xavier quickly replied to the young mutant, but Kurt could sense the worry in his mental voice.

Kurt's mind continued to reel at the possibilities he had to save Kitty, but was devastated when he could think of none. His attention was caught when his sensitive ears caught the conversation between his friend and his father.

"Why do you protect this boy, girl?" asked Azazel, his voice menacing. "He is not like you and is needed to free the neyaphem."

"Like…I don't know…what the…neyaphem are," said Kitty, worrying Kurt with the harsh gasps she was needing to get breathe into her lungs, "but Kurt's…my friend. He is the…kindest and…most caring person…I know and I…won't let…anything…happen to him."

Kurt's heart dropped at the realization that Kitty was about to die to protect him. He was a demon; she shouldn't protect him. He deserved to die; to be thrown into hell like the monster he was. Why would she do this?

" _Just remember that all that matters in the end is who you are, not what you are."_

_Who I am, not what I am_, thought Kurt. _I am not a demon; not the spawn of the devil or a sacrifice for the __neyaphem__. I am Kurt Wagner. I am the friend of Kitty Pride. I am a mutant, but most importantly, I am an X-man and my friends are here to help me. I am _NOT_ a demon and I will not let Kitty die!!!_

Kurt used this new realization to find new strength, pushing away the darkness that was slowly creeping into his vision and lifting his arms back to the sword. Placing one hand on the handle and one at the base of the hilt, Kurt called on all the strength he had left to push the sword from the floor and his body. His muscles and bones screamed with pain, the blade dug into his hand and into his shoulder, but he did not stop. With a muffled cry so as not to alert his father of his actions, Kurt willed the blade free.

He took a quick look at the sword, realizing he knew a little something about it. Being Azazel's sword, it must have been forged in the Brimstone dimension, meaning the metal was special. Not just any metal could hurt a demon, but this metal could. He could use it against his father; he could even kill him with it.

"My dear," cooed the evil demon, catching Kurt's attention, "you _are_ in his position."

"I know…that's…why I…know it…will…be…ok." His eyes widened at Kitty's appearance. He face was starting to turn blue from lack of oxygen. He couldn't wait for the Professor and the others. He had to act now!

With an angry yell, Kurt used the little strength he had gathered to lunge forward and plunged the weapon into Azazel's stomach, slicing through his bone armor with unbelievable ease. Azazel released a painful yell as the weapon invaded his body, dropping the young woman to the floor in shock.

Kurt saw Kitty fall, but could not let go of the weapon for fear that Azazel would regain control of it and harm Kitty farther. He heard the strange sound of groaning metal before being doused by the cold rain that now readily fell through the open roof. He sensed the temperature change as the flames were extinguished, inducing a sense of release in his mind. It meant Xavier and Logan were on their way.

"You…you would kill your own father…for that," stuttered Azazel weakly as he pointed at Kitty in disgust.

"No," said Kurt as his father's dark, almost black blood seeped from his stomach, mixing with the falling rain, "but you are not my father. My father is in Germany. Besides, we both know this will not kill you, so quit pretending."

A sadistic smile spread across the red mutant's face. "How did you know?"

"You're over two thousand years old and there is no scar on your tail from when I bit you," said Kurt, his voice strong and determined. "That means regenerative powers."

"Fool," growled Azazel as he sung his tail around to strike Kurt, but the blue boy was too fast. He ducked and harshly pulled the sword from his father's gut before standing between his father and Kitty, dropping to his knee in exhaustion.

With a fearsome holler, the demon-man lifted his hand to strike. Kurt closed his eyes and lifted his arms to block the blow, but it never came. Instead, there was a feral yell that pierced the air as Logan attacked Kurt's assaulter.

Kurt watched as Evan, Bobby, Rogue, Storm and Jean passed by him, advancing toward Azazel. "Kurt, are you alright?" asked the Professor as he approached the elf.

"I will be fine," said Kurt painfully as he watched his friends fight the giant red man. "Just take care of Kitty."

"I will," said Xavier. "Azazel should be running out of time before he is brought back into the Brimstone dimension, but I think you should…" Xavier was cut off as Evan, Jean, and Logan flew by them, each landing on the cement floor with a hard thud. Xavier turned his attention to the battle only to see Azazel throw Storm and Bobby to the floor.

Fear flowed through Professor Xavier as Azazel approached Rogue, rage glistening in his black orbs. Xavier moved his hands to his head, preparing himself for a battle he was almost sure he would not win. He readied himself to enter the ancient mutants mind when a quick movement directly in front of him caught his attention, breaking his concentration. He opened his eyes to see Kurt once more barreling toward his father.

"Kurt!" he yelled, but it was too late. The boy had already made it most of the way to his target and was crouching for an assault, blade ready in his hand. Xavier cringed at the feeling coming from his young pupil: pain, immense pain from rubbing broken bones and ripped muscles, but there was also a determination that would not allow this to stop him.

With a pained yell, a drenched Kurt launched himself at his birth father, throwing his shoulder into the great demon's chest. The surprise attack caused Azazel to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Immediately, Kurt jumped onto his chest and readied the sword for the final blow.

"That's it, Diablo," said Azazel, a small smile of victory playing on his lips, "kill me. I may not have been able to kill you, but you could kill me. Do it and succeed me as general of Hell's Army, of the neyaphem. Take my head, Diablo. Kill me. It is in your nature!"

With one last yell of anger, Kurt thrust his sword at his father. The X-men let out a gasp as the sword struck its target. Storm and Jean covered their mouths, Rogue and Evan just let theirs hang open, and Logan stood solemn as Kurt stood up from his position on his father's chest.

A small smile played across Xavier's lips as Kurt stood growling at Azazel's stunned face, shocked into silence, a demon-metal sword imbedded in the stone not an inch from his face.

"No," growled Kurt, his chest heaving and his arms hanging loosely at his sides, "I won't, because I am not like you. I am not a demon."

Azazel reached his arm out to grab his son's leg, but was suddenly overtaken by convulsions. Kurt stepped back as he watched the great demon struggle to keep in control of his body. Kurt heard a small chuckle sound from behind him as his professor rolled up beside him. "Looks like you're out of time and out of energy, Azazel."

"I will not leave without his blood," growled the red monster as he fought to get to his feet. He pulled a second sword, identical to the first, from out of nowhere and advanced on his son, body shaking like an earthquake. Kurt stepped in front of Xavier, his body screaming at him to stop moving.

"I will have it," growled the demon as he raised his sword. Kurt stood firm, no longer having the energy to move or defend himself.

There was the sound of a blade being unsheathed as Kurt watched Logan imbed his claws into the red mutant with an uppercut to the gut, the tips protruding from his back. "Go to hell, bub," growled Logan, his voice dark.

Azazel dropped his sword at Kurt's feet as the last of his strength left him. He looked at his son, the fear gone from his yellow orbs as he stared back, the rain dripping from his fur. Kurt stared at the man, no longer afraid. "Goodbye, Vater, und kann Gott, Gnade auf Ihrer Seele haben (2)."

"No!" yelled Azazel angrily as the convulsions took over his body. With a violent shake, the red demon disappeared in a puff of black smoke, the smell of sulfur and brimstone following in its wake. When the smoke finally cleared, the only indication that Azazel had been there was the destroyed building and two abandoned swords.

The group stood in silence as their haphazard victory sunk in. They had stood together and defeated one of the most powerful mutants of all time. "Yes!" yelled Evan, throwing his fist into the air and causing the others to jump. "We did it! We won!!"

"Nice work, you guys," said Scott as Jean went over to help him and Beast to their feet, the paralysis disappearing along with the red abomination.

"I thought I was done for, for a minute," said Rogue, not able to hide her elation, "but thanks to you Kurt…"

"Logan!" yelled the Professor, the urgency in his voice drawing the attention of the others. They spotting the blue elf lying facedown on the cold cement in front of Xavier, his eyes closed and his breathing shallow. "I need you to grab Kitty and get the others on the plane. Jean, can you levitate Kurt?"

"I got him, Professor," said Jean.

"Storm, ready the jet," said the Professor, his usually calm voice now filled to the brim with worry. "We need to get them to the mansion, now!"

* * *

You have _**NO**_ idea how tempted I was to leave it with Kurt sitting on Azazel's chest after attacking with the sword! My cliffhanger muse begged me to leave it there, make everyone think Kurt killed Azazel, but I just couldn't do it. It would have thrown off the flow of the story and it was just too evil to do that to all of you after months of absence. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint! One more to go…

Translations

1- Please help her!

2- Goodbye, Father, and may God have mercy on your soul.


	11. Like the Sunrise

Oh, my God. I can't believe this is the end. It was so much fun to write this story, and now it's over. I know I said this would be out about two weeks ago, but my computer corrupted my file about four-fifths of the way through the chapter. It decided the best course of action would be to delete the contents, so I had to start over. Then I got new ideas and this thing came out. I think this one is better anyway. So, sorry to all of you I gave the wrong info to, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it. Thank you to all of you who reviewed this story. This is actually my first completed multi-chap fic, so I have hit a milestone with my writing. Thanks for the memories folks!

****CHANGE: I took out the last portion of the story. It involved Mystique and many thought it was out of character and didn't really like it, so I removed it. If you read this and are still interested, let me know and I will PM you the original ending. I decided to take a chance, but any didn't like it.****

Warning:…because it is the last time…I refuse…alright, a little Kurt/Kitty FRIENDSHIP fluffiness…

Disclaimer:…I wish I owned Kurt ^_^

* * *

"Only solitary men know the full joys of friendship. Others have their family; but to a solitary and an exile his friends are everything."

-Warren G. Harding

* * *

Beep…

_What is that noise?_

Beep…

_Is that…a heart monitor…?_

Beep…

_It's so slow…_

Beep…

_Is it…me…?_

Beep…

_I gotta wake up…_

* * *

Kitty lazily opened her eyes only to squint them back shut as the bright lights above her flooded her vision, increasing the headache she didn't even know she had. With some effort, she managed to slowly open her eyes again and allow them to adjust to the white light around her. She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position to better assess her situation. From lack of color that surrounded her, she deduced she was in the hospital wing of the mansion.

She tried to remember what had happened that had placed her in the infirmary, but her pounding head refrained her from any train of thought. She could remember heat and a pressure in her head, but nothing else. She stretched tight body, quickly pulling back when she felt a slight pull on her forearms. She maneuvered them to see the stitches keeping deep gashes in her forearms closed.

She tried desperately to remember why she had those gashes, but she just couldn't, and the beeping was driving her crazy. She looked around to see what was making that noise, but there was nothing attached to her that would make that sound. She knew it was the sound of a heart monitor, but she wasn't injured enough to need one. A memory pushed into her head causing her thoughts to stop.

Kurt.

With one fluid movement, Kitty threw off the covers and jumped off the hospital bed in the direction of the sound. She only hesitated a second before pulling back the curtain that separated her bed from the one next to hers and was unable to suppress the gasp that slid past her lips. For a moment, she could do nothing, paralyzed by the sight in front of her.

Kurt lay prone, unconscious in his bed, his dark blue fur contrasting the clean, white sheet tucked around his slender waist. His chest, left shoulder, and part of his head were encased in sterile wraps. His tail sat motionless beside him, bandages enveloping it from the middle to the tip with a splint placed about a foot from the spade. Several wires were attached to the young mutant, allowing multiple machines to monitor his vitals. There were two I.V.'s inserted into his arms, one supplying him with nutrients and the other giving him necessary antibiotics. A mask had been placed over the elf's mouth and nose to help him breathe, but the wheezing that accompanied each breath acted as a testament to his body's weakness.

She hesitated only for a moment before slowly approaching Kurt's bed. Pulling up one of the chairs located nearby, she lowered herself into it, her eyes never leaving his face. His brow was furled and his eyes were dancing frantically under his closed eyelids. He looked scared and in pain. Kitty knew he had to be having nightmares, and unfortunately, it looked like he was unable to wake up from them. She reached out and took his hand, wrapping both her hands around it.

Her touch seemed to calm him, but only slightly. His eyes continued to race and he still appeared afraid. A small groan emanated from the young man and Kitty reacted immediately, placing her hand on his cheek, surprised to find him chilled and sweaty. "Shh, Kurt," she cooed, wanting nothing more than to take the pain away from her best friend, "it's okay. You're safe now." He groaned again, mumbling something incoherent to her, which she could only assume was German. He shifted slightly causing him painfully moan from within his dreams.

She looked around for someone or something that could help her distraught friend find some peace, but she could see neither medication to give him other than the drip he already had nor someone who could give it to him. Her heart sunk as Kurt released a scared whimper. There had to be something she could do.

That is when she saw it, Kurt's hematite rosary. Someone must had found it after the battle with Azazel and scooped it up, most likely Ms. Monroe as she knew how important it was to Kurt. She reached over to the table it was laying on and looked at the religious object. The beads and stone crucifix were scratched and chipped, but the integrity of the relic was still intact.

_Just like Kurt,_ she thought.

Gently, she took the hand that she was holding and wrapped the loop of the rosary around his wrist, laying the crucifix in his palm and gently closing his fingers around it. He calmed, but his eyes and face still seemed pained. She tried to think of what else she could do for him, and a smile played across her face as a memory came to her.

* * *

_She sat on her bed, seething in anger as tears ran down her cheeks, her face cradled in her drawn up knees. How could he treat her like this? How could he do that to her?_

_Suddenly, a bamf disturbed the silence causing her to look up momentarily. A blue elf sat in front of her, balancing on the post of her bed, his eyes scrunched shut by the goofy grin plastered on his furry face. "Guten Tag, Kätzchen!" he greeted enthusiastically. "Rogue, Evan, and I are about to go see that new horror movie we saw previews for yesterday. You wanna come?"_

_Kitty didn't respond. She just glared daggers at him, wishing he would just leave her alone. She placed her head back in her arms as the grin slowly faded from his face only to be replaced by a concerned frown. "Kitty?" he asked, his voice filled with worry._

"_Get out," she mumbled harshly, burying her face farther into her curled up knees. She just wanted to be alone. Why couldn't he understand that?!_

"_Kitty, what's wrong?" he asked, getting down from his perch and crouching on the floor next to where she sat._

"_Nothing," she said venomously, not looking at her blue friend, "just leave me alone."_

_She heard him release an exasperated sigh. "What did he do this time?" he asked annoyed, but she could tell his annoyance was not directed at her, but _him_. He never expressed annoyance toward her._

_She finally removed her head from her lap and looked into his concerned eyes. How is it he could always read her like an open book? She watched as a flicker of frustration flashed in his eyes before the return of his gentle sympathy. "Oh, Kitty," he cooed as he placed his hand on her chin and used his large thumb to wipe away a tear._

"_He ditched me, again," she said angrily as she felt more tears flow from her already puffy eyes. "We were supposed to hang out this afternoon, have some time alone. He promised, but his idiot friends…," she said, trailing off at the end. "Stupid Lance."_

"_Kitty, why are you still going out with that guy?" he asked kindly._

"_Because he's cute and funny and cool…" she listed._

"_But he is not kind to you," he said. "The person you date should be the total opposite of Lance."_

"_Kurt," she warned, getting irritated. The two had had this conversation several times before._

"_I'm serious, Kitty," he said, not a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "You should hear the way he talks about you! You need a guy who calls you beautiful, not hot like some piece of meat, or call you back when you hang up on him so that you can work it out, not ignore you for three days. Kitty, you deserve better and one day you'll find the perfect guy. One who will hold your hand in front of his friends, show you off when you're wearing sweatpants and tell you you're beautiful even when you don't think you are. Someone remembers everyday how lucky he is to have you, someone who will choose you over his friends."_

_Kitty couldn't help but let a small smile adorn her face at his words. "Thanks, Kurt. You always know what to say to make me feel better. You're such a good friend."_

_She noticed a hint of disappointment flicker through his eyes when she said friends, but he knew how she felt. She was impressed how his smile never faltered. "Hey, what are friends for? So, you're feeling better then?"_

"_A little…," she said, trailing off again as the hurt sunk back in._

"_Not enough though, ja?" he said jumping up onto the bed. "I know the perfect remedy for the blues! When I was younger and I was feeling down, mien muter would give me this rosary," he said lifting his hematite rosary, showing it to Kitty for the first time. She was mesmerized by how beautiful and pristine it was. "Then, she would sing me a song. I know you aren't Catholic so you might not want the rosary so much, but you might like the song."_

_Kitty couldn't help but smile. "How does it go?"_

_She watched as another smile spread across Kurt's face before he began to sing._

"_Wenn durch einen Sturm spazieren gehen,_

_Halten Ihren Kopf hoch,_

_Und haben Angst vor der Dunkelheit nicht,_

_Am Ende des Sturms ist ein goldener Himmel._

_Und das süße Silberlied einer Lerche._

_Gehen auf durch den Wind spazieren,_

_Gehen auf durch den Regen spazieren,_

_Obwohl Ihre Träume, geworfen und geblasen werden,_

_Gehen darauf spazieren, gehen auf mit Hoffnung in Ihrem Herzen spazieren,_

_Und werden allein nie spazieren gehen._

_Werden allein nie spazieren gehen."_

_As he sang, she felt all of her worries melt away. When he had finished, she looked at him and smiled. "Thanks, Kurt, I feel a lot better."_

"_See," he said happily, "I swear that song has magic powers. No matter how bad you feel, it just makes you feel better. I know," he yelled, his goofy smile once again plastered to his face and his voice full of glee, "I will teach it to you!"_

_Kitty couldn't help but giggle at the elf's enthusiasm. "Kurt, no matter how much you try, I will never be able to remember German."_

"_Then I will teach it to you in English," he said happily._

* * *

Kitty looked around the room, checking to make sure there was no one else in the vecinity. She wasn't terrible at singing, but she wasn't fantastic either. She remembered when Kurt taught her the song, she was self-conscious, but that never lasted around the fuzzy mutant. She took a breath, closed her eyes, and sang.

"When you walk through a storm,

Hold your head up high,

And don't be afraid of the dark,

At the end of the storm is a golden sky.

And the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,

Walk on through the rain,

Though your dreams be tossed and blown,

Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart,

And you'll never walk alone.

You'll never walk alone."

When she finished, she opened her eyes and looked at her best friend. His eyebrows were no longer furled in pain or worry and his eyes move slowly behind their lids. He looked calm and like he was finally resting.

"Like, looks like you were right, you fuzzy elf, that song is, like, magic," she said smiling.

"That was beautiful, Kitty," came a deep voice, causing Kitty to jump up, letting go of Kurt's hand. Her head snapped around to the door behind her, located just in front of the hospital bed she had been occupying.

"M...Mr. McCoy," she stuttered, her heart rate starting to decline back to its normal pace, "I didn't know you were there."

The blue man gave a deep chuckle before proceeding toward her on all fours. "I'm sorry, Kitty, I didn't mean to scare you," he said as he went to Kurt's I.V. bags, checking them.

"It's alright, I'm just, like, a little jumpy," she said, giving him a weak smile.

"It's understandable regarding what you and Kurt went through."

The two sat in silence for a moment. "How long has he been like this?"

Hank looked at her and gave her a sympathetic smile. "You have both been unconcious for about three days. To be honest, I am a little surprised you are awake and walking around as easily as you are."

"How is he?"

"Considering the beating he got, he is doing very well," he said, his voice a little more optimistic. "His tail is broken and so are two of his ribs. His clavicle was broken, but we used the wound Azazel inflicted on his shoulder to go in and put in a plate and screws. He needed stitches in his shoulder, behind his ear and along his tail. He had a bunch of scratches, some deep bruises on his arms, legs, and torso, and some severely stressed muscles in his back. There was minimal internal damage, but he was suffering from extensive blood loss and exhaustion."

"Oh, my God," gasped Kitty.

"Don't worry," said Hank with a smile, "if Kurt behaves himself, he will make a full recovery. He just needs to rest. Before you know it, he will back to teleporting around the mansion making all sorts of mischief."

"What about, like, big, red, and ruthless?" asked Kitty solemnly.

"Azazel? Xavier says it will be quite some time before he will have enough strength to make it back to our dimension again. Kurt is safe for now."

"But he can come back?"

"Unfortunately." Kitty's gaze found its way to the floor. Hank silently scolded himself for giving her such depressing news when she first woke up before a though popped in his head. "Hey, it's dinner time. All of the other students were just getting settled to eat when I came down to check on you and Kurt. Why don't you come upstairs to dinner? I know they would love to see you," he said with a smile.

Kitty looked at the blue man, before returning her attention to her best friend lying in his bed. "Don't worry," said Hank, "he will still be here after dinner."

"Alright," she said, "but are you sure I'm, like, well enough?"

"You look alright to me," he said, once again giving her a bright smile as he pulled the curtain back around Kurt's bed. "We'll just take it slow."

She nodded and began to walk slowly with him up to the main floor and finally to the dining room. She could hear Xavier talking to the students, but otherwise the house was quiet. Hank led her into the room where she was met with a multitude of smiles from her mutant family.

"Kitty," yelled Jean as she jumped up from her chair and began to walk toward her, "you're awake! How are you feeling?"

"Alright," she said as the red head enveloped her in a hug, "just have a little headache."

"Don't worry," said Scott, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I'll go get you an aspirin. Is that alright, Mr. McCoy?"

"Go ahead, Scott."

Scott left to retrieve the aspirin while Jean led Kitty to an empty chair and got her a plate. Soon the conversations around the table began again. Kitty picked at her food, only eating little pieces of her dinner. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was causing her to lose her appetite. She thought over the conversation she had with Beast in the infirmary, doing the calculations in her head to find that it was Monday. She had missed school.

"Professor," she said quietly, but grabbing the older man's attention nonetheless, "Kurt and I, like, missed school."

"Don't worry, Kitty," said the Professor, "it is all taken care of. You are sick with the flu, and Kurt had to return home for a family emergency."

"What about the warehouse," she said, a sudden frantic fear boiling in her stomach, "the roof is, like, gone. The city is going to know it was mutants and think we're, like, dangerous!"

"Apparently, there was this gang causing havoc on Friday night into Saturday morning. They were mugging people, shooting at animals, and starting small fires all over the neighborhood. The media thinks that one of those fires just got out of control, destabilizing the structure and the roof slid off."

Kitty felt the fear disappear from her heart and stomach. "So we're alright?"

"Like I said, Kitty, everything is taken care of." He gave her another reassuring smile before returning to his meal.

Kitty started to eat again after Scott came back with the medicine, her appetite returning somewhat as she continued to pick at her food. She listened to the other students' conversations about school with mild interest. She looked around the room and her eyes landed on the place next to her. Empty chair, empty glass, empty plate.

Kurt's seat.

She though of him down in the infirmary, all by himself. If he woke up while she was gone, he would be all alone. Would he be confused? Scared? Angry? Would he remember what happened with Azazel or her apology? The sick feeling came back to her as she thought about Kurt hooked up to the medical machines in the mansion's lower level with no one to look after him while they rest of them ate. She couldn't take it.

Slowly, she stood up from her place, drawing the attention of the group. She hadn't intended that, but decided to excuse herself. "I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling well. I'm going to go back and sit with Kurt."

She didn't even wait for an answer, she merely pushed back her chair and headed for the elevator, not wanting to take the stairs by herself. When she finally made it to the infirmary and stopped in her tracks when she noticed the lack of sound in the room. There was no reassuring beating of a heart monitor.

Kitty took off like a shot toward the hospital bed containing Kurt and threw back the curtain. A weird combination of relief and dread passed through her body as her brain processed her new discovery.

Kurt wasn't dead.

But Kurt wasn't there, either.

His bed lay empty, I.V.'s hanging on their racks, breathing mask resting on the pillow, and machines turned off. The sheets were bunched at the foot of the bed, allowing Kitty to see the small blotches of blood on the bed where Kurt's injuries had rested. It was obvious that Kurt had woken and left, but the question was to where. She had to tell the Professor.

She raced back to the elevator and pushed the button to bring her to the first floor. When the doors opened, she started to walk back to the dinning room when she hear a sound coming from the floor above her, like someone had dropped something. She slowly ascended the stairs, wanting to check on the sound before causing the other students to go into a panic. When she reached the second floor, she sighed with relief. Kurt's door was slightly ajar, light spilling through into the hall.

She slowly pushed open the door and smiled. He sat on the balcony railing, his back facing her as he watched the setting sun. His tail lay across his lap and his arm sat gently in its sling as he sat unmoving. She started to walk toward him noticed the team had cleaned up his room. The pictures were placed in new frames, the mirror had been replaced, and a new holo-watch sat on the bedside table. Kitty picked it up and looked at it, wondering what it truly felt like to rely on such a mundane thing for normalcy.

Her foot bumped something on the floor. She looked down and cringed at the sight of Azazel's sword. She tried to look away from it, only to find the second one on the dresser. They had been cleaned and didn't look as menacing in the daylight, but she couldn't shake the image of Kurt lying on the ground with one of those swords in his shoulder.

She pushed by the bed and out the balcony doors. She carefully hopped up and sat next to Kurt on the railing. "Hey, shouldn't you be resting?" she asked quietly, not quiet sure if they were still on speaking terms or not. He merely shrugged, not turning his attention to her. Her heart sunk at this, but she decided to try again. "I wanna know, like, who brought Azazel's swords up here?"

"I did," he said flatly. "I wanna be ready next time he comes."

"It will be a while," she said, understanding the noise she heard earlier was Kurt dropping the sword due to a weak arm. Was he really practicing with the swords already?

"I know."

The two sat in solitude for a long while, tension filling the air between them. She started to think he didn't want her around, and started to move to leave.

"I'm not a demon," he said, his voice raspy from the currents events. He turned his head toward her, and she felt her heart rise a little by the smile that had returned to his eyes. "Danke for helping me see that."

Nonetheless, she could not be cheered by his words. "How can you thank me," she said sadly, "when I called you one?"

She saw him smile slightly as a small chuckled passed through his lips. "You helped me face it," he said, facing the sun once more. "It has always been in the back of my mind, the idea that I could truly be a demon, but I always feared facing it and finding an answer. You helped me with that, and now I know that it doesn't matter."

Kitty felt tears prickling at her eyes. "I'm sorry, Kurt," she said, letting the tears start to fall, "for what I said. I'm, like, a horrible friend!" She buried her face in her hands, careful not to lose her balance and fall off the balcony.

Kurt didn't want Kitty to hurt, no matter how much she had hurt him. He reached out his uninjured, mutated hand, gently pushed her hands away from her face and turned her head to face him. "Actions speak louder than words, Kätzchen," said Kurt, his voice calm and sincere. "You risked your life to save me. You are my best and dearest friend."

A harsh, cough-like laugh escaped her as she tried to look away, stopped by the gentle force of Kurt's hand. "I'm not like the stars, Kurt," said Kitty, remembering the analogy he told her once.

"No, you're not," he said kindly, causing her to look at him again, "but you are like the sun. The darkness of night may come between us once and a while, but I know you will be there in the morning."

Kitty couldn't help but smile at her friend. "Kurt, that was beautiful…and, like, cheesy at the same time." She couldn't stop the giggle that came from her, nor could he stop the chuckle that came from him.

"Little bit, huh?"

The two continued to giggle for a while before Kitty became serious again. "I truly am sorry, Kurt. I should have never said those things to you."

Kurt rested his hand on her arm and smiled. "There is no need to apologize anymore, Kätzchen. All is forgiven and in the past."

"How can you be so forgiving, Kurt?" she said ashamed.

Kurt let his tell-tale smile spread across his face as he pointed at himself with his thumbs. "'Cause I'm the Fuzzy Dude."

Kitty smiled a genuine smile as she looked down at her hands and the holo-watch held by them. She handed the watch to Kurt, who looked at it confused. "Know you never, like, have to hide around me, Kurt," she said as his eyes flashed between her and the watch, "and when the day comes when you're ready to share your secret with the world, I will be right by your side; whether it be in thirty minutes or thirty years."

His yellow eyes locked with her blue ones as he studied her. He had accepted her apology, but there was still a small part of him that worried about being accepted. That portion was silenced, however, by the genuine sincerity shining in her eyes, and he smiled. "Really?"

"You're my best friend, you fuzzy elf," she said swinging her legs around and jumping off the railing to the safety of the balcony, "of course really." She chuckled at her friend's face as she leaned forward and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

Kurt felt the heat rush to his head. _Dank-Gott(1) for having fur_, he thought as his blushing went unnoticed. He watched as she walked across the room toward the door, stepping over his sword as she went. He picked up his tail from his lap and ran his finger over the pale scar on the uninjured side of his spade. The words of the last conversation he had with the Professor passed through his mind.

"_Kurt, I know it scares you, but think over what I said about sharing the memory with your friends. You trust them with your future, so trust them with your past."_

Kurt swallowed in an attempt to drown his fears. _Am I really willing to do this?_ he thought.

"H…Hey, Kitty," he stuttered, his nerves starting to take their toll on his speech, and causing Kitty to turn back to him. "Do…do you think I could talk to you about something?"

Kitty gave Kurt a reassuring smile, somewhat calming his nerves. "Always," she said as she walked over to him again. "What do you, like, wanna talk about?"

Kurt looked at Kitty's face and knew that he could trust her, forever and always. "I'm ready to talk about something; about this," he said confidently, showing her the ancient scar on his spade.

* * *

Yay, a 12-page finale. I hope you all enjoyed the story. Please, let me know what you think. As always, if I have screwed up the translations, let me know. I do not speak German, but they are an important part of the story. Thanks everyone. The journey's been fun!

Translations:

1- Thank God--German


End file.
